USC Football: Ex-Trojan Officially Signs Deal with NFL Club as Undrafted Rookie

He's hoping to make the 53-man roster after a productive USC run.

Oct 21, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans offensive linemen Mason Murphy and Justin Dedich. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Former USC Trojans offensive lineman Justin Dedich is staying local for his first NFL opportunity.

At least, for now.

Last week, the Los Angeles Rams announced that they have inked him to a contract to the team, after he went undrafted last month.

The 6-foot-2, 295-pound guard out of Temecula maximized his collegiate tenure as a redshirt senior.

He played sparingly during his freshman season with the Trojans way back in 2018 (he matriculated in the spring after graduating high school a semester early) and redshirted. In 2019, he served as a backup center, starting for Brett Neilon in the Trojans' final two contests of the season. He played just two games as a redshirt sophomore in 2020. Finally, in 2021, he became a far more full time player. He appeared in each of the Trojans' 12 contests in 2021, moonlighting as both a guard and a center. He was named to the 2021 Pro Football Focus All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention Team.

In 2022, Dedich played started 11 USC bouts at right guard, one at left guard and one at center. He was once again an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and made the Pro Football Focus All-American Third Team, and was ranked as the seventh-best guard in the country for an 11-3 juggernaut led by Heisman winner Caleb Williams at quarterback.

Like many players who lingered in 2023, Dedich's rep took a bit of a dip during the Trojans' underwhelming 2023 season, in which the club went just 8-5.

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