USC Trojans Showcase Depth at Crucial Position in Season Opener

USC running back Waymond Jordan made his long anticipated return in a week 0 win over San Josè State this past weekend.

Jordan suffered an ankle injury last October that ended a promising first year with the Trojans. The former No. 1 rated junior college running back carried the ball eight times for 48 yards. Although they weren’t eye popping statistics, by all accounts, Jordan had returned to full form in USC’s season opener.

Lincoln Riley Deploys Running Back Depth

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Freshman Recruiting Waymond Jordan King Miller Riley Wormley Deshonne Redeaux Shahn Alston Recruit — Aug 29, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the San Jose State Spartans in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

King Miller, who emerged in Jordan’s absence last season, added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason and is up to 225 pounds. Miller looks more like a Big Ten running back and he felt the effect of his new frame in the season opener.

“Playing in the Big Ten, you got to get those short [gains] whenever it's needed. I think it helped today,” Miller said.

On one particular run late in the first quarter, Miller slipped the tackle of one Spartans defender and ran over another. It was a seven-yard gain, but it took at least five defenders to bring him down. Miller carried the ball 15 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown.

All five of the Trojans scholarship running backs played meaningful snaps in the first half.

Second-year running back Riley Wormley had just one carry, but the Texas native scored his first career touchdown on a five-yard run early in the second quarter. Freshman running back Shaun Alston carried the ball seven times for 30 yards and the Ohio native also scored his first career touchdown.

"It was just amazing being out there, having fun with those guys, seeing them score their first career touchdowns and celebrating with them,” Jordan said.

Freshman Deshonne Redeaux carried the ball just two times but made the most of his opportunities. Each run went for 10-plus yards as he finished with 26 yards. He flashed the vision, power and burst that made him a coveted prospect.

Balanced Approach on Offense

Riley returned to his roots last season and became a more balanced play caller than he was in 2024.

With a talented backfield and four starters returning on the offensive line, the expectation going into 2026 was Riley would continue to deploy a balanced approach. In the first half against San José State, USC had 25 rushing attempts versus 20 pass attempts.

Riley set the tone on the jump, with nine runs on their 13-play opening drive. The one element the Trojans were missing throughout the game was creating chunk plays in the run game. Redeaux had the longest run of the day at 15 yards.

“We missed some opportunities for some explosive ones, but it was it was steady," Riley said. "It was solid. It needs to be better. You're not going to hit a home run on every one, but at the same time, we need to be a little bit more explosive.”

Southern Cal did a great job of getting movement upfront and felt the impact of having left tackle Elijah Paige back in the lineup after an injury-plagued season in 2025. But as Riley stated, the USC run game left plenty on the table.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, and X for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google