Alex Graham Re-Signing Instantly Impacts USC Trojans' Secondary

USC fans waited patiently for the re-signing announcement of freshman defensive back Alex Graham. That news finally came down on Saturday morning.

Graham was a late addition to the Trojans 2025 recruiting class, flipping his commitment from Colorado to USC on National Signing Day. He began generating a lot of buzz during fall camp and was expected to start at nickel.

USC Trojans Re-Signing RJ Sermons Alex Graham Injury Update Kamari Ramsey Elbert Hill Recruit Recruiting Lincoln Riley — Dec 30, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches in the first half against the TCU Horned Frogs during the Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

However, an injury before the season opener kept him out of the lineup for the first half of the year. Graham made his season debut against Michigan on Oct. 11, where he logged eight snaps.

Graham did not play again until an injury to Kamari Ramsey against Iowa on Nov. 15 that cost him the rest of the season thrusted the freshman into the lineup. In a crucial top 25 matchup, Graham never flinched. The stage wasn’t too big, and the lack of live game reps was irrelevant.

He started at nickel for the rest of the season and continued to progress. Against UCLA and TCU in the Alamo Bowl, Graham looked like the player that was expected to be a day one starter as a true freshman.

Graham appeared in four regular season games and then the bowl game, so he was able to play a significant role and still redshirt this year.

Impact of Alex Graham in USC Secondary

Graham is incredibly versatile. He can play nickel or safety, which he did in the bowl game. The Detroit native is incredibly active in run support and flies around the field. Former defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn praised his football IQ during fall camp.

USC needs to much better as unit defensively next season if they want to be able compete against the top teams in the Big Ten and make a push for a College Football Playoff.

And that starts with having impact players at all three levels and the Trojans have one in the secondary with Graham.

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The leap Graham made from his first significant playing time against Iowa in mid-November to the bowl game at the end of December was exponential.

It begs the questions, what kind of impact could Graham have made if he played the entire season but more importantly now, what kind of impact can he make next season with another year in a college strength and conditioning program and multiple games under his belt.

Outlook of USC Secondary

Graham will be competing with sixth year senior Prophet Brown for the starting nickel spot. Brown missed the entire 2025 season with a lower body injury he suffered the second week of fall camp.

Dee Reddick appeared in 11 games as primarily a special teams player and reserve at nickel in his freshman campaign. His most significant playing time came against Illinois when Ramsey was out with food poisoning.

Christian Pierce will occupy one of the starting safety positions again. Kennedy Urlacher is the favorite to start alongside Pierce at safety. Similar to Graham, Urlacher was thrusted into the lineup against Iowa when All-American safety Bishop Fitzgerald suffered an injury that cost him the rest of the season.

USC did not add a safety in the transfer portal, and they could decide to make Graham a full-time safety with Brown returning. Three-star recruit Madden Riordan offers a similar position versatility in the secondary as Graham.

The cornerback room has become crowded. but that’s a good thing considering they have to be more consistent on the outside.

USC signed former Iowa State cornerback Jontez Williams, the No. 1 ranked cornerback in the 247Sports Transfer Portal rankings and former Oklahoma State cornerback Carrington Pierce.

Redshirt freshman Marcelles Williams returns after starting the final 11 games of last season. Sophomore Chasen Johnson was expected to have a role this past season but missed a majority of the year with a knee injury. He will return in 2026. Johnson started four games as a true freshman at UCF in 2024 under cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed.

RJ Sermons was a five-star recruit in the 2026 cycle, before reclassifying to the 2025 cycle in the summer to spend this past season working with the Trojans staff. The Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) did not take a single snap this season but it’ll be hard to keep him off the field for a second season. Former four-star Trestin Castro appeared in two games as a true freshman.

Five-star recruit Elbert Hill was one of the crown jewels of the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the 2026 cycle. Hill is a technician at the position and will be pushing to be part of the two-deep. Four-stars Brandon Lockhart and Peyton Dyer are two other names to keep an eye on.

Impact of Alex Graham in USC Secondary

Outlook of USC Secondary

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