USC Early Enrollees Standing Out Before Spring Practice

USC invested heavily into the 2026 recruiting cycle. They revamped its personnel and recruiting staff to model that of an NFL front office and hired assistant coaches that could recruit at a high level.

Spring football is just around the corner as the Trojans wrap up their winter strength and conditioning program. USC held its media day for assistant coaches this past Friday and several freshmen from the No. 1 recruiting class received some lofty praise from the staff.

Breck Kolojay, Center/Guard

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Recruiting Early Enrollee Luke Wafle Mark Bowman Breck Kolojay Elbert Hill Spring Practice Big Ten — (#43) Breck Kolojay, OL, 6'6, 317 pounds, for the white team, Class of 2026, during IMG's Academy Pro Day held at IMG's football field in Bradenton, FL on Thursday, Feb, 27, 2025. | Thomas Bender/ Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kolojay is an intense player. The 6-foot-6, 325-pound Colorado native is mean and aggressive and nasty on the offensive line, and that’s exactly what the Trojans need in the Big Ten, and even more so if they want to become true bullies in the conference.

“Everything you see is as advertised. That was the biggest attraction to Breck from the jump for me and I know for coach Riley too,” said offensive line coach Zach Hanson. “Trying to take that next step as an offensive line and you’re intensely level on the field and playing with that mentality of we’re not just here to cover people, we’re here to hurt people. We’re here to drive people into the ground and play like an elite o-line. So when you can recruit a guy that naturally has that in his DNA, it makes that part a lot easier”

Jonas Williams, Quarterback

Williams is still only 17 years old, but the Lincoln-Way East (Ill.) product has impressed offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Luke Huard with his approach on and off the field. Williams is competing with Sam Huard for the No. 2 quarterback spot behind Jayden Maiava this spring.

“Very mature. I think that’s the first thing that sticks out,” Huard said. “He’s done a great job attacking all of his responsibilities, whether it’s off the field stuff. Anytime you’re a 17-year-old kid coming to college for the first time, away from home, a lot of stuff to manage. Obviously, the football that's the fun part but there’s a lot of things they have to learn and responsibilities and time management."

“I think he’s handled everything with a lot of maturity. He’s earning the respect of his teammates. He’s come in here with a very humble attitude, very workmanlike. Was able to develop a good relationship with him here over these last 18 months and he’s somebody that’s always striving to learn more. He’s done a great job absorbing and learning from his teammates.”

Luke Wafle, Defensive End

Wafle was tabbed as the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2026 class after a superb senior season and showing all week at the Navy All-American Bowl in early January.

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MORE: USC's Offensive Coordinator Doesn't Hold Back About Freshman Quarterback Jonas Williams

The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Wafle has the notoriety attached to his name but has let his work ethic do the talking since he stepping foot on campus last month.

“No matter what business you’re in, no matter what profession you’re in, you always start with mindset and that young man’s mindset and mentality and his makeup is up there,” said defensive ends coach Shaun Nua. “He’s tough, intelligent and just willing to work. The thing that you see out there, he’s always putting himself on the line with all the conditioning stuff. He’ll give you everything he got.”

Mark Bowman, Tight End

Mater Dei (Calif.) five-star tight end Mark Bowman is expected to be a plug-and-play starter as a freshman.

However, Bowman knows nothing is going to be handed to him at USC, he has to work for it and that’s exactly what the local star has done. He has a strong desire to be great and is solely invested in making that happen.

“Work ethic and approach. You could do a bare minimum, showing up when you’re asked to be here on the schedule, but he’s a guy that is texting me to meet at an extra time, or I'm walking out of the building to leave at night, and he's doing a walk through on his own with Sam Huard on the turf in the weight room,” said inside receivers/tight ends coach Chad Savage. “When a guy's investing the extra time, obviously what you put in is what you're going to get out. But just his approach on how he wants to be great is going to pay off for him.”

Keenyi Pepe, Offensive Tackle

Pepe, a five-star prospect, is the highest-ranked player in the Trojans class, according to 247Sports and Kolojay’s roommate at IMG Academy (Fla.). USC returns all five starters on the offensive line but that won’t stop Kolojay or the 6-foot-7, 330-pound Pepe from pushing those guys to get on the field from day one.

“A lot of it is God-given talent. The Lord blessed him with some unbelievable gifts,” Hanson said. “He's a big, long, athletic guy that can really move for his size, he’s 330 pounds. You can tell he comes from a good program, he was coached well at IMG. Him and Breck Kolojay, both of those guys have a lot of reference to a lot of things we do. It’s just what are we calling it versus what they were calling.”

Jaimeon Winfield, Defensive Tackle

Winfield is another five-star recruit in the class and comes from the same high school as new defensive line coach, Skyler Jones. The 6-foot-3, 315-pound Texas native is expected to make an immediate impact on the interior of the defensive line.

“Jaimeon is talented, he works hard. He’s going to be a really good football player going forward,” Jones said.

Elbert Hill, Cornerback

It was a question wherever or not four-star Elbert Hill would play corner or nickel, but cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed cleared that up. The Ohio native was the top-ranked cornerback in the 2026 class, according to ESPN. He instantly becomes one of the fastest players on the team but is also a technician playing cornerback.

“He’s a corner. He’s also a tremendous athlete. Wherever we can get him on the field the fastest, that’s where he’ll be,” Reed said.

Deshonne Redeaux, Shahn Alston, Running Back

USC signed two blue-chip running backs in Deshonne Redeaux and Shahn Alston. Redeaux, the No. 5 ranked running back, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, has been on the Trojans radar since his freshman season at Oaks Christian (Calif.).

“Deshonne is a jack of all trades. You look at his body type, he’s also a thicker kid as well,” said running backs coach Anthony Jones. “He is very fast in the open field so we are excited about him and his potential.”

Alston, the No. 8 ranked running back, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, was also a standout starting from his freshman season, playing at Harvey (Ohio).

“Shahn Alston is a really thick kid,” Jones said. “For some strange reason, he just loves to lift weights. I don’t know if he gets that from his dad or his high school program. He’s one of the few guys who really loves to go down there with coach Trumain [Carroll] in the weight room and just train and work hard and get as strong as he can.”