College Football Insider Emphasizes USC Trojans' Biggest 'Weakness'

With the upcoming college football season approaching, team's rosters are essentially finalized as coaches begin to build depth charts. As a result, many start to look for strengths and weaknesses for each team.

For the USC Trojans, insiders believe their weakness is not where most expect -- within the offense line.

One of the most growing concerns for the Trojans offensive line is the questionable eligibilty for DJ Wingfield -- whose NCAA eligibilty has been in the works for months with no answer, and has now turned to a lawsuit against the NCAA.

Despite Wingfield's eligibility, the Trojans cannot dwell and wait for answers -- they must act on a potential replacement in the worst case scenario.

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Offensive Line Big Ten Media Days DJ Wingfield NCAA Ryan Kartje Offense Purdue Boilermakers — Dec 12, 2020; Pasadena, California, USA; General view of the line of scrimmage as Southern California Trojans offensive lineman Damon Johnson (59) snaps the ball against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. USC defeated UCLA 43-38. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“I was concerned before we learned that the NCAA denied DJ Wingfield’s appeal for another season of eligibility. That situation is still up in the air — Wingfield has hired an attorney and will push for an injunction from the court — but USC must go forward assuming the veteran guard won’t be eligible,” Kartje wrote.

When coach Lincoln Riley was asked about Wingfield's status prior to fall camp, Riley gave the audience all that he knows, and it's not much.

"We have no specific updates on DJ right now," Riley said. "The process is ongoing right now. I wish I could comment a little bit more, but we've got to let that play out."

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Wingfield remains one of the strongest players on the line at Purdue before transferring to USC and has led the offensive line for the past few seasons. Kartje believes that based on their offensive line room, changes to Wingfield's spot is doable, but will take time.

“What does that mean for a line that was already thin?” Kartje asked. “My expectation is that Tobias Raymond would shift inside to right guard, while Justin Tauanuu slots in at right tackle. But count on many combinations being tested over the next month.”

Tobias Raymond, the redshirt freshman offensive tackle, stepped into a larger leadership role with the offensive line and performed to higher standards -- earning a start in the Trojans Bowl game against Texas A&M.

"I think that was really big for me. You've got to get your first start at some point, so it was nice to get it last year rather than hopefully this year. That was my first full game of playing. It's a lot different than going in for the second half. Being in the whole game, it helped slow things down, which was nice," Raymond said after a USC spring practice.

As Raymond consistently competes for a starting role on the line, he emphasized that competing against guys older than him is hard, but pays off.

"It still feels weird to say. I feel like it went by fast. It's definitely a different role because I'm one of the older guys now, which is nice, but it's weird at times to realize that. There aren't many guys older than me now. It's always fun playing football with your guys, but when you're competing for a spot, it's way different," Raymond said.

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