Answering Burning Questions About USC Trojans' First Depth Ahead of Season Opener

No. 14 USC released its first official depth chart on Wednesday night ahead of its season opener against San José State on Saturday, Aug. 29.

Trojan fans had several questions about the initial depth chart and those answers are provided here.

Are you surprised by the “or” at Will? Or is it consistent with the intel coming out of camp? I thought Walker would be the outright starter.

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Depth Chart Week 0 College Football Tanook Hines Injury Terrell Anderson Fall Camp San Jose State — Jul 28, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; USC Football head coach Lincoln Riley speaks during Media Days at Hilton Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Not at all. Linebacker Jadyn Walker is definitely taking steps. Having a full year under his belt and new linebacker coaches Mike Ekeler and AJ Howard have certainly helped.

But Deven Bryant had a really good fall camp. He was one of the first names Riley mentioned during their Mock Game week as a defensive player that stood out in camp. The rest of the country views Bryant as Washington's throwaway, trust me, he's not. I actually believe it’s a good sign they’re both listed as starters. It means the staff has confidence in both of them.

Worried Keenyi might not be very developed. Obviously it’s a true freshman but still a little weird he was beat out by a bunch of people.

Just because a player is a five-star doesn’t mean they are a plug-and-play day one starter or college ready immediately. That’s not directed at offensive lineman Keenyi Pepe, and neither is this, fans get too caught up in star rating and I do myself sometimes. They are heavily flawed and not an exact product and I know for a fact USC doesn’t put much stock into them. They’ll do their own scouting.

Offensive line coach Zach Hanson is very high on freshman Vlad Dyakonov, who is listed as the backup left tackle, and so I am. Not sure why he didn’t get a lot of attention from fans, he had a great spring and fall camp and has been spoken about on here.

He climbed the recruiting rankings his senior year and every step of the way for the past year he's been very impressive. From helping his team win a state championship, to the Navy All-American Bowl practice week and since he's been on campus. He was a severely underrated member of the 2026 class.

Aaron Dunn, who is the listed as the backup right tackle, was a highly recruited four-star prospect in the 2025 class. His work ethic is second to none. I've told the story about him going through a workout on the field by himself in the rain before the game against Iowa last season. He’s got great size and is committed to his craft. His development under Hanson should be encouraging for other players.

I know USC was pleased with the progression of Pepe in the spring and is someone that has the skill set to play either tackle position. He has all the physical tools and a high ceiling but does need to continue to progress but I have confidence Hanson can do that.

I know it's not mentioned on the depth chart but who do you see on KRs and PRs?

USC Trojans Recruiting Lincoln Riley Spring Practice Visit Gavin Williams Trent Mosley Deshonne Redeaux Luke Wafle RJ Sermons — USC Trojans freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley | USC Trojans freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley

Trent Mosley does at least one, most likely punt return. He could end up doing kick return as well. I’ve seen receivers Terrell Anderson and Zacharyus Williams and cornerback Rock Hill fielding punts as well.

With kickoff, running back Riley Wormley and Hill are some other names to keep an eye on.

Do we have timelines on the missing starter (Shelby, Stewart, Anderson?)

Riley said Jahkeem Stewart could be back as early as the Fresno State game in week 1. Braylan Shelby and Anderson are banged up but don’t know what exactly their injuries are. The more information I get that I can share, I will but USC doesn’t reveal a ton of information.

Do you expect the 1st and 2nd DL/DB to play all game? I would think 3rd stringer will also play. Who do you think are the 3rd stringers? What happened to Sermons?

I don’t expect the starters to play beyond the first half. USC should get an extended look at a majority of its roster in a live game setting, which could determine how the depth chart and rotation shakes out next week and heading into Big Ten play.

RJ Sermons is listed as the backup cornerback with Marcelles Williams behind Jontez Williams. There’s a ton of talent in the cornerback room. Coach Trovon Reed’s ability to recruit and develop is incredible. Outside of Jontez Williams, it’s still an ongoing battle at cornerback. Sermons will have an opportunity to prove himself early in the season.

Is Tanook playing? Why did Anderson get left off?

Riley said on Thursday that Tanook Hines will be a game-time decision on Saturday. Still not sure what kept Hines out in the spring and fall camp until last Tuesday. The media saw him running routes on the air with the rest of the team for the first time last week.

But as we learned last season, that doesn’t say much. It doesn’t necessarily mean they went through the full practice. Even if he is able to go, they still have to ramp him up to game speed and conditioning. Anderson has been banged up in camp. We’ll find out more on Saturday.

Depth at DL appears to be thin? I know Jahkeem is injured but thought there was a lot more depth?

Keep in mind it’s just a two-deep. The positions that have three names have an OR attached to them. At defensive line, I expect to see Jamaal Jarrett and freshman Jaimeon Winfield, who are not listed, to get some playing time. Shelby will play and appear on the depth chart when he’s healthy.

If Stewart were healthy, there’s a chance you probably wouldn’t have seen Floyd Boucard or Tomuhini Topui’s name on the depth chart. Defensive line is different than the rest of the positions as far as rotation. They have tremendous depth, even with the injuries.

Big thing for me is just injury status for a handful of guys not listed. Expected Shelby, Anderson, Vaikona and Jarrett to be on the 2 deep so not seeing their names was a surprise.

Safety Marquis Gallegos and Dee Reddick are both out for the season opener. Gallegos suffered a significant knee injury early in spring practice. He was still wearing a knee brace when the team did a beach workout in front of USC fans in July. Not 100% sure if it’s the same injury.

Reddick got hurt early in camp, which is why freshman Madden Riordan is the backup at both safety spots. Although, he was probably going to be ahead of one of them anyway. Not sure people realize how impressive Riordan has been since the spring.

Elijah Vaikona and Jarrett might have just gotten out. Haven’t seen or heard anything injury wise. It was a little bit of a surprise to not see Vaikona on the depth chart but Dyakonov and Dunn are severely underrated.

Caden starting at placekicker was a shocker. You think this is a weekly competition?

It shouldn’t be considering Caden Chittenden was a Freshman All-American at UNLV in 2024. And remember, Chittenden was going to be starter last season before he got hurt in fall camp. Ryon Sayeri was great last season and held onto the job.

But from what I saw from Sayeri in fall camp, it wasn’t very encouraging. He is going to handle kickoff duties. I don’t expect it to be a weekly competition but if Chittenden were to struggle, USC knows they have someone else that has plenty of game experience.

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