How USC Trojans Improved Toughness With Top-Ranked Recruiting Class

In the Big Ten, everything starts in the trenches. It’s a conference that prides itself on physicality at the line of scrimmage.

While USC undoubtedly made strides in its second year in the conference, they were still behind where they needed to be, and it was glaring in their three losses to Illinois, Notre Dame and Oregon.

The Trojans put an emphasis on recruiting the line of scrimmage in this 2026 cycle to immediately help them next season but also set themselves to have dominant units in the future.

Out of State Prospects

USC Trojans Recruiting Class Recruit Esun Tafa Chad Bowden Lincoln Riley Keenyi Pepe Breck Kolojay Luke Wafle Big Ten — (#44) Keenyi Pepe, OL, 6'7, 330 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

Being dominant in the trenches means USC needs to land elite prospects in their backyard but have to go out of the state of California if they want to take that next step as a program.

IMG Academy (Fla.) five-star offensive Keenyi Pepe is from Southern California but played his high school football in the Sunshine State. The 6-foot-7 Pepe is younger brother of redshirt senior defensive lineman, Kobe Pepe, and USC made it a priority to bring the No. 1 rated player at his position home.

The Trojans also put a high priority on Pepe’s roommate at IMG, four-star interior offensive lineman Breck Kolojay. The Trojans were in an intense recruiting battle with Miami and Georgia over the summer but ultimately won out. Pepe and Kolojay both are college ready players.

Kolojay played youth football with Mater Dei (Calif.) five-star tight end Mark Bowman and Littleton (Colo.) three-star interior offensive lineman Kannon Smith, who brings position versatility on the offensive line. USC has Smith and Kolojay listed as centers when they announced the official signing of its 2026 class.

When Zach Hanson moved from tight ends to the offensive line coach in January one of the first players, he and Lincoln Riley targeted was Corner Canyon (Utah) four-star interior offensive lineman Esun Tafa.

“They’re getting a really aggressive player. I’m technically sound in pass pro,” Tafa said. “I think I’m a good fit for them especially in the run game. They were talking about we need to bring more aggression on the offensive line and I think that’s something I can bring and help commit to.”

MORE: USC Signees Reveal How Chad Bowden Has Changed Everything At USC

MORE: What 5-Star Tight End Mark Bowman's Signing Means for USC Trojans Recruiting

On the defensive side, Hun School (N.J.) five-star edge Luke Wafle was another highly touted out of state of recruit the Trojans were in an intense recruiting battle with over the summer. His decision between USC and Ohio State came down to the final hours before making an announcement in June. Rivals rated Wafle as the No. 1 edge and No. 4 overall recruit in the 2026 class.

Wafle registered an eye-popping 23 sacks his senior season. He will assuredly have a role in D’Anton Lynn’s defense as a true freshman. The same could be said for Richardson (Texas) four-star defensive lineman Jaimeon Winfield.

USC fended off Texas and Texas A&M late in the recruiting process to hold onto Winfield. The Trojans also signed Prosper (Texas) three-star defensive lineman Jake Johnson, a dominant 6A player in the state of Texas and Mount Carmel (Ill.) three-star edge Braeden Jones.

Elite In-State Prospects

Four-star defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui flipped his commitment from Oregon in April and was one of four blue-chip recruits from Mater Dei to sign with USC. At 320 pounds, Topui is very likely to play as a freshman.

Four-star edge Simote Katoanga got the ball rolling for the Trojans recruiting class at the beginning of the year when he committed in February. The Santa Margarita (Calif.) product is a high upside player that can blossom into a dominate player in the Big Ten under the tutelage of Shaun Nua.

Four-star offensive tackle Vlad Dyakonov continued to fast riser in the recruiting rankings during his senior season. Dyakonov is a perfect fit for Riley’s offense because of the spread scheme he played in at Folsom (Calif.).

Three-star edge Andrew Williams, three-star offensive tackle Chase Deniz, three-star defensive lineman Malik Brooks and three-star interior offensive lineman John Fifita are viewed as development players.

Redshirt sophomore guard Tobias Raymond and redshirt junior defensive lineman Devan Thompkins followed a similar path and stepped into starting roles in 2025.

Returning Units

USC will return its entire starting offensive line from this season. On the defensive front, senior defensive end Anthony Lucas and redshirt senior defensive lineman Keeshawn Silver are two players that will be moving on because they are out of eligibility. Silver split starting duties with sophomore Jide Abasiri on the interior of the defense next to Thompkins.

Sophomore Kameryn Crawford and junior Braylan Shelby will occupy the two starting end positions. They split that starting duties opposite of Lucas this season. Defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart and Floyd Boucard showed flashes during their true freshman seasons.

The expectation is that both of those units on the line of scrimmage will drastically improve heading into next season but there will be some tough competition from the incoming freshman class, particularly at center and the interior of the defensive line.

Out of State Prospects

Elite In-State Prospects

Returning Units

Recommended Articles