USC Freshmen Receivers Could Become an Instant Difference-Maker

Malachi Toney was an instant difference-maker for the Miami Hurricanes during his freshman year. It’s hard to believe the First Team All-ACC receiver, who just turned 18 years old in September, was supposed to be a high school senior this year.

Toney continuously rose to the occasion in the brightest moments, including reeling in 10 receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown in the national championship game against Indiana on Monday night. He can stretch the field vertically and his electric with the ball in his hands. Everything he does is fast. The star freshman was the Canes leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley National Championship Miami Malachi Toney Boobie Feaster Trent Mosley Kayden Dixon-Wyatt Recruit — Jul 24, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USC head coach Lincoln Riley speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Michigan receiver Andrew Marsh was also his team's leader in all three categories during his true freshman campaign and is budding star in college football. Dakorien Moore was Oregon’s team leader in receptions and receiving yards at the time of his injury in early November. They were all instant impact players for their respective programs.

The year prior it was Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, who helped lead the Buckeyes to a national championship and Alabama’s Ryan Williams. Clemson’s Bryant Wesco Jr. didn’t get as much notoriety, but the former four-star recruit was excellent during his true freshman season in 2024 and helped the Tigers reach the College Football Playoff.

USC went heavy on receivers in the 2026 class, signing six of them. Could one of the freshmen become an instant star for the Trojans offense next season?

Highly Touted Prospects Join USC’s Receiver Room

Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon are off to the NFL, and Jaden Richardson has exhausted his eligibility. The only receiver USC truly pursued and signed in the transfer portal was Terrell Anderson from NC State.

Whether they were actually in the running for former Auburn receiver Cam Coleman is irrelevant now because they immediately took themselves out of the equation after landing Anderson.

Part of the reasoning was the Trojans investment and belief in their freshman class. Four-star Boobie Feaster, a three-time MaxPreps All-American, was originally the No. 1 ranked receiver in the 2027 class before reclassifying to the 2026 class. He began picking up offers in middle school and just continued elevate every year.

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The No. 4 ranked receiver in the 247Sports Composite Rankings was a dominant player in his senior season playing at the 6A level in Texas. He was a man amongst boys and led DeSoto (Texas) to its second state championship in three seasons.

Feaster may only be 17 when he starts his college career starts but he’s ready now. The Trojans were aggressive in their pursuit of Feaster because of the kind of impact he can make in 2026. Four-star quarterback signee Jonas Williams was heavily involved, even making the trip to Los Angeles over the summer when Feaster was in town for his official visit, even though his was scheduled for the following weekend.

Kayden Dixon-Wyatt committed to Ohio State last May and Oregon never stopped pursuing the four-star receiver from Mater Dei (Calif.). However, it was USC who emerged late in the process, eventually flipping him on National Signing Day.

Dixon-Wyatt is an explosive target that offers flexibility with his ability to line up inside or outside. He has great hand strength at the catch point and is a smooth route runner. Similar to Feaster, Dixon-Wyatt, a top 50 recruit and No. 6 ranked receiver in the 247Sports Rankings, is too talented not to see the field as a true freshman.

If there were two receivers USC couldn’t let out of the state, one was Dixon-Wyatt and the other was another Trinity League superstar, Trent Mosley.

There’s a strong argument there wasn’t a better player in the entire state of California last fall than the Santa Margarita (Calif.) product and he has the hardware to back it up. Mosley was named a First Team Max Preps All-American and the MaxPreps California Player of the Year.

He led Santa Margarita to a CIF Southern Section Division I title, becoming the first school other than national powerhouses Mater Dei and St. John Bosco to win it since 2015. The Eagles went onto win the Open Division state championship, both are the highest divisions in California.

In those two games, Mosley combined for 21 receptions for 482 yards and seven total touchdowns. His game is very similar to that of Lemon and Toney. He’s an offensive chess piece and a player you want to have the ball in his hands as much as possible. Mosley isn’t the biggest receiver, but neither are those two other players and that hasn't seemed to matter.

Outlook of Trojans Receiver Room

Freshman Tanook Hines, who finished third on the team last season in receptions and receiving yards and Anderson, who had a breakout sophomore season at NC State in 2025, lead the room.

Zacharyus Williams returns after an upper body injury limited him to just five games. And so does Corey Simms, a four-star recruit in the 2025 class. Simms appeared in 12 games last season as primarily a special teams contributor.

Four-star Luc Weaver, and three-stars Ja’Myron Baker and Roderick Tezeno round out the rest of the Trojans recruiting class at receiver.

All three certainly shouldn’t be counted out. Toney was a three-star recruit in the 2025 class but that didn't matter once he arrived at Miami. And Hines did not enroll until the last summer but still earned a starting spot coming out of fall camp.

Highly Touted Prospects Join USC’s Receiver Room

Outlook of Trojans Receiver Room

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