News and Notes from USC's Updated 2022 Fall Roster

The USC Trojans released the fall roster for the 2022 season on Thursday. As always the reveal comes with some interesting information. Here are the news and notes from the 2022 version.

Numbers of New Arrivals

Fall freshmen and transfers via junior college and the portal had their numbers officially announced. Here’s a look at those who will be taking their first USC practice snaps when fall camp starts.

WR Jordan Addison – No. 3

DB Zion Branch – No. 8

RB Raleek Brown – No. 14

DB Jacobe Covington – No. 14

QB Jake Jensen – No. 17

ILB Eric Gentry – No. 18

DB Fabian Ross – No. 26

DB Bryson Shaw – No. 27

ILB Carson Tabaracci – No. 34

RUSH Devan Thompkins – No. 37

ILB Garrison Madden – No. 41

DL Solomon Byrd – No. 51

OL Cooper Lovelace – No. 71

Obviously, the headliner here is Addison wearing the retired No. 3 jersey of Carson Palmer. But No. 3 has a significant history at wide receiver as well, with Curtis Conway and Keyshawn Johnson both wearing it.

Branch will likely be unavailable for much of the fall after suffering a leg injury during summer conditioning.

Brown wearing No. 14 seems like an interesting number for a running back. But he wore No. 4 in high school and that’s taken by wide receiver Mario Williams.

Number Changes

WR Michael Jackson III – No. 9 (from No. 13)

S Calen Bullock – No. 7 (from No. 27)

DL Nick Figueroa – No. 99 (from No. 50)

The conversation over the No. 13 jersey on offense is finished as it goes to quarterback Caleb Williams. But No. 9 is a nice consolation prize for a wide receiver. Marqise Lee and Juju Smith-Schuster did that number proud at USC in recent years.

Bullock takes over No. 7. The comparisons to Marvell Tell are certainly there, so seeing him in No. 7 will only continue those.

Figueroa takes over No. 99 for Drake Jackson. Figueroa wore that number at Riverside City College before coming to USC and sporting No. 50 the past three seasons.

New Walk-ons

QB Gage Roy – No. 28

QB Keegan Patterson – No. 29

RUSH Garrett Pomerantz – No. 39

ILB Roman Marchetti – No. 57

OL Kilian O’Connor – No. 67

WR Austin Overn – No. 82

DL Sinjun Astani – No. 93

K/P Garth White – No. 98

The quarterback room gets a numbers boost with the two true freshmen. Adding players to the rush end and inside linebacker room is a positive as well. Pomerantz is from Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman and Roman Marchetti is from Santa Ana (Calif.) Foothill.

O’Connor prepped at Santa Margarita.

Overn was a high school teammate of Marchetti’s at Foothill. He’s a phenomenal athlete who will be on a baseball scholarship at USC. He hit .316 and stole 23 bases on the diamond. He caught 68 passes for 1,407 yards and 20 touchdowns on the gridiron. And he ran a 10.49 wind-legal 100m on the track.

Astani is a veteran coming in from San Jose State who should add another body up front.

White is a junior college transfer from Ventura who can kick and punt.

Not Appearing

Australian punter Atticus Bertrams is not listed on the roster. USC did announce Bertrams as being signed back in December during the early signing period.

Walk-ons Michael McAllister and Will Rose are listed as the punters this fall. Junior college kicker Garth White is listed in the media guide with the kickers. But White said previously he’s come in with his sights set on kicking and punting and would likely eventually settling into whichever role he performed better. There is obviously a significant hole at punter now with multi-year starter Ben Griffiths no longer on the roster. This is a topic that will likely come up with head coach Lincoln Riley during Friday’s conference media day.

Also not appearing on the roster is offensive lineman Maximus Gibbs.