News and Notes from USC's Updated 2023 Football Roster

USC’s updated 2023 football roster was released on Friday. With it comes the official announcement of some uniform numbers for the newcomers, a position change and departure.

True Freshmen Numbers

A number of freshmen were on campus this spring and those numbers have been set.

No. 1 – WR Zachariah Branch
No. 8 – QB Malachi Nelson
No. 21 – RB Quinten Joyner
No. 24 – WR Makai Lemon
No. 24 – S Christian Pierce
No. 25 – LB Tackett Curtis
No. 27 – RB A’Marion Peterson
No. 29 – CB Maliki Crawford
No. 44 – Rush Sam Greene
No. 72 – OL Elijah Paige

USC added a number of freshmen this summer as well.

No. 19 – WR Duce Robinson
No. 34 – Rush Braylan Shelby
No. 35 – Rush DJ Peevy
No. 56 – DL Elijah Hughes
No. 59 – OL Micah Banuelos
No. 61 – OL Jack Susnjar
No. 73 – OL Tobias Raymond
No. 75 – OL Amos Talalele
No. 77 – OL Alani Noa
No. 84 – WR Jaden Moore
No. 88 – TE Kade Eldridge
No. 89 – WR Ja’Kobi Lane
No. 91 – DL Deijon Laffitte
No. 95 – K Tyler Robles

Heights and Weights of the New Freshmen

Hughes is an undersized defensive lineman at 6-foot-3 and 265 pounds, which is one of the reasons he was a three-star prospect. But he’s expected to make a big impression during his time at USC.

Laffitte is an interior lineman, and checks in at 6-foot-4, 280 pounds.

The offensive linemen are big bodies across the board.

Banuelos is 6-foot-3, 290 pounds and a likely center. Raymond is 6-foot-7, 270 pounds and has put on a significant amount of weight since initially committing to USC. Talalele is the biggest of the bunch at 6-foot-5, 330 pounds. And Noa is right behind him at 6-foot-4, 320 pounds.

The two new rush ends bring great frames to that spot. Shelby is listed at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds. Peevy is 6-foot-4, 230 pounds.

The pass catchers bring some serious size as well. Tight end Eldridge is 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, Robinson checks in at 6-foot-6, 225 pounds, and Lane is 6-foot-5, 180 pounds.

Incoming Transfer Numbers

Former Georgia defensive lineman Bear Alexander was the headline maker of the second transfer portal window across college football. He’s now at USC and wearing No. 90. Alexander’s listed size is 6-foot-3, 305 pounds.

Fellow big man Emmanuel Pregnon was also one of the more sought-after transfers this past spring. The former Wyoming lineman will wear No. 70 with the Trojans. He’s also listed at an impressive 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds.

The third celebrated spring transfer was former Alabama cornerback Tre’Quon Fegans. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound defensive back will wear No. 23 with the Trojans.

USC also added some inside linebacker depth in Deuce Palmer, who comes over from SMU. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound linebacker will wear No. 42 for the Trojans. That hasn’t been a number that has traditionally carried the weight many USC fans feel it should considering it was worn by the legendary Ronnie Lott. Palmer spent four years at SMU, collecting 11 tackles over 23 games.

And the tight end room gets another body in CJ Woods, who comes over from Cal Poly. Woods hasn’t played much football recently as he redshirted during a three-game spring 2021 season and did not play football in 2022.

Heights and Weights of Returners

In addition to the online roster, the fall media guide has been released as well. There are a few height and weight updates there that aren’t reflected on the online roster. Here are some players with notable differences.

Anthony Lucas is listed at 6-foot-5, 295 pouts on the roster, but 265 in the media guide. The smaller number is closer to being correct.

Linebacker Eric Gentry is listed at 215 pounds in the media guide, a 10-pound increase from the online roster.

Departures

The No. 90 was available for Alexander because it’s no longer being worn by defensive lineman Colin Mobley. The lineman entered the transfer portal back in December but removed his name at the end of January. Mobley participating in spring ball with the Trojans, but is no longer listed on the 2023 roster.

Fellow defensive lineman Jamar Sekona is also no longer listed on the fall roster. Sekona was a spring ball participant for the Trojans. Neither Mobley nor Sekona appear in the transfer portal as of Saturday afternoon.

Wide receiver Austin Overn is no longer listed. Overn just put together a phenomenal true freshman season for the baseball team and it was considered likely that the high school three-sport standout would concentrate on baseball moving forward.

Position Change

Raleek Brown came in as a running back last fall but worked at slot receiver this spring. His position now reflects that move. He’s listed as a wide receiver on the roster. There’s clearly no reason he couldn’t still record rushing attempts or line up in the backfield. But this gives a good sense as to his likely role and responsibilities moving forward.