USC football offensive line depth: Trojans starting unit has major upside
With spring practice in the books, we've put out our projected USC football depth chart for the fall. But let's go deeper. Over the course of the next few weeks, we'll release position-by-position breakdowns of USC's roster.
Who is back from last season? Who's new? Who will have the biggest impact? Who's an under-the-radar player to watch? What does the future of the position look like?
We'll answer all of those questions and more.
We started our breakdowns with the quarterbacks, running backs and tight ends. Let's now dive into the offensive linemen.
THE ROOM
USC enters the 2023 season with 15 scholarship offensive linemen. Justin Dedich (R-Sr.) will start at center after playing guard a year ago. Jonah Monheim (R-Jr.) took the majority of reps at right tackle in the spring, which is where he played in 2022. Mason Murphy (R-So.), Gino Quinones (R-Sr.), Andres Dewerk (R-Jr.), Cooper Lovelace (R-Sr.) and Andrew Milek (R-Jr.) all return and will likely begin next season in reserve roles.
Michael Tarquin (R-Jr.), Jarrett Kingston (R-Sr.) and Emmanuel Pregnon (R-Jr.) all transferred into USC this offseason and will likely start. Tarquin, who came from the University of Florida, took reps with the first team offense at left tackle in the spring. The addition of Pregnon, the lone lineman signed in the second transfer portal window, gives USC some flexibility at the guard spot. At Wyoming last season, Pregnon played right guard, which is where Kingston lined up this spring with USC. Kingston hasn't played much right guard in college and may switch over to left guard, a position he played for two years at Washington State, in the fall. That remains to be seen though. Fall camp will provide more clarity.
Elijah Paige (Fr.), Tobias Raymond (Fr.), Amos Talalele (Fr.), Micah Banuelos (Fr.) and Alani Noa (Fr.) will all be true freshmen this fall.
PROJECTED LINEUP AND DEPTH CHART
LT: Michael Tarquin
LG: Jarrett Kingston
C: Justin Dedich
RG: Emmanuel Pregnon
RT: Jonah Monheim
The guards could end up getting swapped, but with Kingston having more experience at left guard and Pregnon having more experience at right guard, those two lining up at their natural positions makes a lot of sense.
Quinones played a good amount of left guard last season and could factor in at that spot. Murphy is a reserve who can play either tackle spot. Milek is a reserve center. Dewerk and Lovelace are reserve guards.
Of the freshmen, Paige projects as a future left tackle who could maybe even work his way onto the two-deep due to enrolling early and USC's limited tackle depth. Raymond also plays tackle. Talalele, Banuelos and Noa are all guards. This group will get the chance to show how they stack up during fall camp.
2022 BY THE NUMBERS
Tarquin (at Florida): Started 8 of 9 games played at right tackle logging 355 snaps. Allowed 0 sacks.
Kingston (at Washington State): Started 9 games at left tackle logging 547 snaps. Allowed 0 sacks.
Dedich: Started 13 games, 10 at right guard and 3 at left guard. Logged 930 snaps and allowed 0 sacks.
Pregnon (at Wyoming): Started 11 games, 10 at right guard and 1 at right tackle. Logged 625 snaps and allowed 2 sacks.
Monheim: Started 14 games, 11 at right tackle and 3 at right guard. Logged 1,004 snaps and allowed 0 sacks.
Quinones: Played in 8 games making one start. Played 3 games at left guard with one start and 5 games at right guard. Logged 208 snaps and allowed 0 sacks.
Murphy: Played in 11 games with 5 starts. Started 3 games at left tackle and 2 games at right tackle. Logged 396 snaps and allowed 3 sacks
Milek: Played in 4 games at center logging 27 snaps. Allowed 0 sacks.
Lovelace: Played in 2 games, 1 at right guard and 1 at left guard. Logged 21 snaps and allowed 0 sacks.
Dewerk: DNP
WHAT TO EXPECT
Last season, PFF graded USC's offensive line as the No. 10 pass blocking and No. 11 run blocking unit in the country. This year's group has the potential to be even better. If the starting unit stays healthy, Caleb Williams will have one of the best offensive lines in the country.
Of the five projected starters, both Tarquin and Kingston suffered injuries a year ago that forced them to miss multiple games. Durability with those two may be a concern. USC doesn't have much proven depth behind the starters, which is another concern. The tackle depth is particularly weak, but a lot of the starters can play multiple positions.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF THE POSITION LOOK LIKE?
USC's five additions from the high school ranks will in theory be the backbone of the o-line in two to three years. Paige looks like the future left tackle and the staff is very high on Noa.
USC will always be active in the transfer portal though and if the team has a need in the future, they'll likely address it in the portal if a move makes sense. How good the 2023 offensive line class turns out to be will determine how the staff recruits the portal down the line.
