USC Freshmen Shine in Scrimmage at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

USC wrapped up its third week of spring practice with a scrimmage inside of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

With no spring game again this year, Saturday served as one of the most important days of the spring. Here is some intel and feedback on the Trojans' 11th practice.

Young Pass Catchers Emerging for Jayden Maiava

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Scrimmage Coliseum Jayden Maiava Trent Mosley Madden Riordan Mark Bowman Spring Practice Recruit — Oct 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) warms up prior to the game against the Michigan Wolverines at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava will be working with a new set of weapons with five of his top six targets from last season gone. And the Trojans leaned heavily into a talented group of young pass catchers from Southern California in the 2026 recruiting class.

Five-star tight end Mark Bowman was highly coveted across the country and for good reason. The Mater Dei (Calif.) product has been as good as advertised in Los Angeles and one source referred to Bowman as someone that “won the day” on Saturday.

Bowman is perhaps the most talented tight end USC coach Lincoln Riley has had at the position since Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews when the two were at Oklahoma a decade ago. Bowman is expected to be a day one starter and so could freshman receiver Trent Mosley.

Fresh off a playoff run for the ages en route to winning a state championship, Mosley has just carried that over into spring practice. Mosley continues to stack great days. The Santa Margarita (Calif.) product has a skill set that is eerily similar to Makai Lemon and being his replacement in the slot.

The buzz around freshman receiver Tron Baker picked up this week and the former Sierra Canyon (Calif.) pass-catcher had another big day on Saturday, where he caught a "electricfying" touchdown. USC’s social media posted a video of Maiava airing out a deep ball to freshman receiver Luc Weaver for a touchdown.

Sierra Canyon Star Steps Up

How do you take advantage of opportunities when they are presented to you? It’s a question that applies to all walks of life.

For freshman safety Madden Riordan, he has been running away with them. Riordan has seen extra reps this spring because of multiple injuries at the safety position. He was known as a ball hawk during his days at Sierra Canyon (Calif.) and came up with an interception on Saturday. And this weekend isn’t the first or second time Riordan has stood out over the past month.

Riordan is a classic example of stars don’t matter once you get on campus. Rated as a three-star, the freshman safety has shined in the spring. He plays much bigger than his 170-pound frame. Depth behind Christian Pierce and Kennedy Urlacher in the safety room is a question mark because of the lack of experience but don't count out Riordan in the competition.

More Disciplined Defense Under Gary Patterson

The word used to describe the Trojans under new defensive coordinator Gary Patterson is “detailed” and that’s exactly how they been practicing.

The media is only able to watch USC’s practice through individual drills, but one thing has been evident, it’s all about the small details, emphasizing good technique and putting the players in best position to be successful. The talent is there, now, it’s about turning them into high level players in the Big Ten and Patterson has a great track record in the player development department.

Patterson is the Trojans third defensive coordinator in the Riley era but he is very likely to be their best one yet. In the past, there wasn’t enough discipline on that side of the ball. Whether it was poor communication and tackling or misalignments, it always felt like something major was missing under the previous two defensive coordinators.

With Patterson, it’s the opposite and it’s not just because of him, the assistant coaches have played a large role in that. Players in the secondary have talked about how much new safeties/defensive pass game coordinator Paul Gonzales and nickels coach Sam Carter stress the little details. They work heavy eye discipline and communication. It can be mundane but highly necessary.

Cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed demands excellence from his position on every rep. And because of it, Reed has the respect of his players. Linebackers coach Mike Ekeler has referred to himself as a teacher and it reflects in his coaching style. Same with outside linebackers coach AJ Howard, he and Ekeler work very well together.

According to sources, the defensive line looked good on Saturday under defensive line coach Skyler Jones and defensive ends coach Shaun Nua. The Trojans have invested heavily into its defensive front over the past few recruiting cycles and its starting to pay off with depth and talent.

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