What USC Center J'Onre Reed Said Before First Start with Trojans

The USC Trojans enter another ranked matchup against the No. 15 Michigan Wolverines on Saturday. Following a loss and their first bye weekend, a sold out crowd in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is on order, as well as backup center J'Onre Reed's first start.

Aug 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sidelines against the Missouri State Bears in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Coming off their first bye weekend of the season, the USC Trojans enter week 7 with another difficult matchup, hosting No. 15 Michigan in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT. 

The Wolverines pulled out their second conference win over Wisconsin, to improve to 4-1 before their road contest against USC. 

USC will be missing starting center, Kilian O’Connor after he went down early in the second quarter against Illinois and returned to the sidelines later in street clothes. With the absence of O’Connor, offensive line coach Zach Hansen turns to the next man up: Syracuse transfer J’Onre Reed. 

J'Onre Reed's Time Is Here

Sep 6, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans offensive lineman J'Onre Reed (50) quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) warm up prior to the game against the Georgia Southern Eagles at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

It’s no secret the Trojans have faced major injuries at key positions – including left tackle Elijah Paige, and cornerbacks Chasen Johnson and Alex Graham. Now, with O’Connor out, Reed will step into the starting center role against the Wolverines. 

When asked about feeling equipped to fill in as a leader on the line, Reed answered confidently, with no hesitation. 

“I feel ready. I feel prepared. Since I've been here and since Killian was the starter, I've been in the back taking more mental reps, having my head deeper in the playbook,” Reed said after Tuesday’s practice. “They always told me, ‘Just be ready. Your time is going to come and whenever it does come, we know you’re going to be prepared,’ and when the time came, they would have no doubt about it.”

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Reed brings a lot of experience to the Trojans offensive line room, after playing two seasons with the Syracuse Orange before his move out west. 

Through his two seasons with Syracuse, Reed led the Orange to a 10-3 record last season, including ranked wins over No. 23 Georgia Tech, No. 25 UNLV and No. 6 Miami. 

Reed Will Start at Center Against Michigan

Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley before an NCAA football game with the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Bringing plenty of experience, the 6-foot-3 center from Houston, Texas is the perfect man for the job.

Especially through the Trojans difficult two-game stretch, the experience level that Reed brings to the table is valuable to the Trojans high level of play. 

“J’Onre’s played a lot of football. He's played in a lot of big games, and that was definitely some of the intrigue when we brought him here,” coach Lincoln Riley said after Tuesday’s practice. “We felt like one way or another, whether he was a starter or not, he was going to be very valuable for this football team.”

Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley talks with players during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

The Trojans are also down Paige, who went down with an injury in the Michigan State game and is still healing. 

Riley's confidence in Reed is high, noting that the preparedness of his backup center will not be an issue come Saturday’s game. 

“I think the chance to get all the snaps to really dive into the preparation on a different level when he's a starter here, and having multiple weeks, has been to our advantage,” Riley said. “I don't know if I've ever had this accomplished of a second option. So, I don't expect that to be an issue for us.”