Austin Jones is at USC looking to compete

The connection between Austin Jones and USC this offseason is one of those right place, right time situations. USC’s running back room must be accessible by a revolving door because that’s how frequently and easily backs have come and gone the past few seasons.

Markese Stepp and Stephen Carr transferred prior to the 2021 season. That same offseason, the Trojans landed Keaontay Ingram and Darwin Barlow out of the transfer portal. This offseason, USC saw both Kenan Christon and Brandon Campbell enter the transfer portal. And the Trojans went in and plucked Travis Dye and Jones out of it. Ingram and Vavae Malepeai both took their final carries as Trojans last season and are both off to the NFL. After all the shuffling, the Trojans are left with three scholarship backs this spring, needing to replace about 85% of its rushing yards from last season.

Jones led Stanford with 107 carries last season, but couldn’t get much going behind a Cardinal offensive line that struggled all season. Stanford ran for just 1,047 yards all year on 3.2 yards per carry. Jones’ 34.4 rushing yards per game were good enough to lead the team. Clearly, playing for a Stanford offense that finished 10th in the Pac-12 in total yards per game, 10th in points per game, 9th in passing yards per game, and last in rushing yards per game took its toll.

Jones officially entered the transfer portal on January 12. The running back spoke Monday evening on the Trojans Live Radio Show and gave the biggest reason behind that decision.

“I needed to go into a different situation where I can reinvigorate my passion for the game,” Jones said.

About a week after he entered the portal, Jones was committed to USC.

A Perfect Situation for Jones

A convergence of a few different entities worked in USC’s favor during the recruiting process. The Lincoln Riley offense is a great one for running backs who know they’ll be utilized as a runner and receiver. And USC running backs coach Kiel McDonald, hired a short time before Jones’ commitment, was a big factor as well.

“Coach Mack (McDonald), he recruited me throughout high school and we’ve always kind of kept that pretty close relationship,” Jones said, adding his commitment out of high school came down to Stanford and Utah, where McDonald coached at the time. “Once I saw him get the job over here, I was like, ‘Man, I gotta take the opportunity to do that.’ So it was great.”

A California native, Jones is fully aware of USC’s reputation with running backs and as a program on a national level.

“I know coming to USC, a place where there’s a lot of hype and competitiveness that you kind of need as a player,” Jones said. “I felt like coming here was the best thing that I could have done for myself.”

Arriving at USC

Jones was a wanted back out of the transfer portal. He said he was receiving multiple calls within seconds of his name appearing in the transfer portal.

He arrived at USC as one of two running backs out of the portal, along with former Oregon running back Travis Dye. Jones and Dye committed on back-to-back days, giving the Trojans a talented transfer haul at the position. But that also meant jones was leaving a running back room that split carries at Stanford for another room that has two very capable backs on the roster.

Jones said the depth chart at his ultimate destination didn’t play a part in his decision.

“I just wanted to go somewhere where I can compete and have fun with it,” Jones said. “I didn’t really care whether or not there was a bunch of dudes there…Didn’t necessarily care if there was a bunch of talented guys around me because that’s only going to make me better. And I felt like going here, where Travis is coming in, Darwin, he’s a great player, too. And now we have a room where it’s like every day you have to compete. Every day you have to wake up and fight. And I think that’s the best thing for me.”

Jones’ Fit in the Offense

Jones and Dye are similar backs in stature and playing style. Dye is listed at 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, Jones at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds. They’ve also been tremendously successful as runners and receivers in their careers. And their veteran status should be a benefit when it comes to pass blocking.

All that remains is to see how they fit into this offense once the lights come on. Jones is excited to see how it plays out.

“This scheme is crazy,” Jones said of Riley and USC’s offensive attack. “He has a whole bunch of type of ways where you can get the ball, whether it’s out of the backfield, deployed as a receiver, and everything like that… I’m really enjoying it at practice, seeing what’s going on and where I can kind of fit into that mold. You see the track record. You see what he did at [Oklahoma]. I was like, why not?”