How Jahkeem Stewart’s Can Help Spark a Defensive Revival at USC

USC’s defense in Big Ten play has been abysmal. There’s no other way to put it.

The Trojans gave up 460 yards and 35 points to a Rutgers team that had struggled against UMass and Boston College. And then this past Saturday, it was 504 yards and 41 points to Oregon.

USC Trojans Jahkeem Stewart Recruiting Luke Wafle Freshman All-American Defense Lincoln Riley Gary Patterson Big Ten Oregon — Sep 4, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive coordinator Gary Patterson during the game against the Fresno State Bulldogs at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

But this isn’t anything new under coach Lincoln Riley. Not much has changed from the USC defense that allowed 47 points to Utah in the 2022 Pac-12 Championship, which kept them out of the College Football Playoff in Riley’s first season, and then 46 points in a loss to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl.

Five years and three defensive coordinators later, a disappointing showing against the Ducks in week 4 proved just that.

It’s the same issues over and over again. But it doesn’t just date back to the beginning Riley’s tenure in Los Angeles. It’s been the same issues that plagued him at Oklahoma starting back in 2017.

Something drastic has to change and it has to happen this Saturday, Oct. 3, when USC host another longtime West Coast opponent in Washington.

Jahkeem Stewart Makes Season Debut

There was one bright spot on that defense against Oregon, and it was defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart. The sophomore made his season debut after re-injury the same foot that limited him throughout his Freshman All-American season and had surgery on last December.

Stewart played 34 defensive snaps, some of that was because of the injury to defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren, but it did show the Trojans are going to play with Stewart with no restrictions. He immediately made his presence felt and finished the night with two tackles for loss.

There are numerous issues with the Trojans defense, and they all can’t be fixed this season. Having a dominant interior defensive end could help spark a change after a disastrous first month of the season on that side of the ball.

Stewart was one of the crown jewels of the 2025 recruiting class. He’s dealt with setbacks in his two seasons but has showed great fortitude and keeps battling his way back to be a disruptive player.

Last season, the more game reps he got under his belt after missing his entire last season of high school football because of transfer rules, the more he continued to thrive. This season, he returns having played an entire year of college football.

At 6-foot-6 and 295 pounds, the New Orleans native has all the physical traits to be a premier defensive lineman in college football, and he’s showed flashes of blossoming into that player.

Five-star freshman defensive end Luke Wafle doesn’t have a sack, but he has been a strong run defender and the most consistent player on the defensive front. The toughness on USC’s defense starts with Stewart and Wafle, two of the youngest players in the room but that’s where the team is at.

The idea of pairing the two of them was intriguing heading into the season and now it can come into full fruition.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, and X for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google