USC football: 7 Trojans with the most to prove during spring practice

USC's spring practices will begin on Saturday, March 4. Here are seven Trojans who will have the most to prove during the sessions.

Defining 'most to prove': Players who didn't have major roles/weren't on the team in 2022 that can put themselves in a position to see more of the field this upcoming season.

RB DARWIN BARLOW

Barlow has certainly been doing his best in the weight room this offseason, but he'll need a big spring to show Lincoln Riley why he deserves more than the 36 offensive snaps he got last fall. With the addition of running back MarShawn Lloyd in the transfer portal and the return of Austin Jones and Raleek Brown, Barlow is currently fourth on the depth chart at tailback. An impressive spring could move him up.

DL EARL BARQUET JR.

Barquet arrived at USC as a highly touted transfer from TCU last year. He went on to play just 35 snaps on defense. There will be plenty of competition on USC's defensive line following the departures of Tuli Tuipulotu and Brandon Pili. Barquet will get the chance to show why he deserves more playing time.

S ZION BRANCH

Branch is coming off of a knee injury that sidelined him for the whole year, so the USC staff will be cautious with him during spring camp. If everything goes well rehab wise, Branch will have the chance to break into the safety rotation and he could even lock down a starting job with a strong spring. Coming out of high school, Branch was ranked as the No. 58 prospect nationally and No. 6 safety.

LB RAESJON DAVIS

Despite struggling to get on the field in 2022, Davis will be back for the Trojans this year. With the additions of linebackers Eric Gentry and Shane Lee last year, plus Mason Cobb, Jamil Muhammad and true freshman Tackett Curtis joining USC in the last few weeks, it looks like Davis has been recruited over. In his end-of-year Q&A session with reporters, Riley did say this of Davis though:

"I think, could we have given him an opportunity earlier than [the Cotton Bowl]? Absolutely. And I would say, hey, was there something from a coaching standpoint? Or did we make a mistake by not doing that? We very well may have.

“Then the other thing I would put it back on, it's like, I tell the guys this every year at the start of the year, ‘If you make these decisions for us, 50-50, meaning, 50-50 on if you're going to start or not, or 50-50 on whether we're going to put you in the game or not, if you give us 50-50, we're going to be right on some and wrong on some. So make it clear, where there's no doubt we got to put this guy in the game. There’s no doubt you should be a starter.”

Davis will have the chance to show he should '100%' play more this spring.

WR KYRON HUDSON

The Trojans wide receiver room is the deepest on the team. University of Arizona transfer Dorian Singer projects as a starter and then USC has six scholarship returners in Brenden Rice, Mario Williams, Tahj Washington, Michael Jackson III, John Jackson III and Hudson. Of those returners, Hudson had the fifth most receiving yards last season with 152 yards in 13 games. If everyone stays healthy, obviously all seven of those receivers won't all play. A big spring for Hudson could see him carve out a bigger role because right now, he looks like the potential odd man out.

Remember that USC will have two highly touted freshmen receivers on the roster in 2023 as well in Zachariah Branch and Makai Lemon.

CB DOMANI JACKSON

Jackson earned rave practice reviews from teammates when he was healthy, but injuries kept him on the sideline for most of his true freshman season. Coming out of high school, 247Sports.com ranked Jackson as the No. 5 recruit in the country. If he can stay healthy this spring, locking down a starting role for the fall is certainly on the table.

DL ANTHONY LUCAS

At the tail end of 2022 Lucas was "suspended indefinitely by the Texas A&M coaching staff for an incident in the locker room following the Aggies loss to South Carolina," according to Aggies Wire. Lucas played in seven games a year ago and recorded ten tackles prior to his suspension.

The former 5-star recruit now has a clean slate after transferring to USC. Similarly to Jackson, Lucas has all of the tools to be a great player. A strong spring camp could provide the foundation for a productive first year with the Trojans.