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USC football's 2022 depth chart: A closer look at Lincoln Riley's offense
Lincoln Riley released the first version of USC football's depth chart Wednesday night ahead of Saturday’s season opener vs. Rice.
There aren’t a ton of surprises, but the official roster does answer some of the questions surrounding USC’s deeper position groups - especially the offensive skill positions.
Here's a closer look at the offensive depth chart:
RUNNING BACKS
Oregon transfer Travis Dye or Stanford transfer Austin Jones will start at running back, with freshman Raleek Brown listed third on the depth chart. Darwin Barlow fills out the running back room, though he is not actually listed. Riley said Thursday all four of these backs are likely to get touches on Saturday.
Dye ranked 11th in scrimmage yards and 14th in touchdowns among all college football running backs last season. As the most proven in the group, he will likely see the majority of snaps for the Trojans this season.
Although he did not see much volume last year, Barlow showed impressive flashes at times last year and has averaged 5.2 yards per carry across two years at TCU and one at USC to go along with 14 career touchdowns. He’s a great back to add depth to a very talented running back room.
WIDE RECEIVERS
USC also has a lot of depth at wide receiver, thanks to a wealth of transfers and plenty of strong returning talent. Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison, Oklahoma transfer Mario Williams and Colorado transfer Brendan Rice will start in the 11 personnel set.
Washington transfer Terrell Bynum is the only standalone second string receiver on the depth chart. Four returning Trojans will also split snaps this season: redshirt junior Kyle Ford, redshirt junior Tahj Washington, junior Gary Bryant Jr. and redshirt freshman Kyron Hudson.
Four-star freshman CJ Williams rounds out the receiver room, and although he might not see too many snaps behind all of USC’s other talent, Williams shows great promise and will likely play a big role in future Trojan offenses.
All of these receivers could potentially be utilized in any given game this season, so expect to see the Trojans spread the ball around quite a bit in a pass-heavy Lincoln Riley offense. Addison and Mario Williams will likely be the biggest impact receivers for USC this year.
TIGHT ENDS
One surprise on the offensive depth chart is that redshirt senior Malcolm Epps is not the clear-cut starter at tight end. Though he only caught 10 passes last year, Epps possesses tremendous size and could add some welcome physicality for the Trojans. He will split time with redshirt freshman Lake McRee.
OFFENSIVE LINE
The starting offensive line will consist of Jonah Monheim (RT), Justin Dedich (RG), Brett Neilon (C), Andrew Vorhees (LG) and either Courtland Ford or Bobby Haskins at left tackle. Dedich is one of USC’s four captains for the 2022 season, and Neilon will start for the fourth consecutive season.
QUARTERBACKS
Riley affirmed last week that sophomore transfer Caleb Williams will be the starter but expressed that he has “total confidence” in redshirt freshman backup Miller Moss.
This should come as no surprise; Williams took over the starting job under Riley at Oklahoma last season after coming in to lead the Sooners to a 55-48 comeback victory against Texas. He was also named one of USC’s four captains by Riley on Tuesday.
MORE: DEFENSIVE DEPTH CHART
