WATCH: USC Offensive/Defensive Linemen at Fall Practice No. 6 (8/3)

One of the most notable upgrades with the USC football programs this offseason was impressive linemen additions. We’re talking about both sides of the ball and both young and experienced players.

USC defensive line coach Shaun Nua added Bear Alexander, Anthony Lucas, Jack Sullivan, Kyon Barrs, Sam Greene, Deion Laffitte, and Elijah Hughes to his room since the end of the 2022 season.

Rush Ends/Outside Linebackers Coach Roy Manning added Jamil Muhammad, Braylan Shelby and David Peevy to his group.

Josh Henson also had an extremely productive offseason adding Jarrett Kingston, Emmanuel Pregnon, Michael Tarquin, Elijah Paige, Micah Banuelos, Amos Talalele, Alani Noa and Tobias Raymond to his OLine room. Altogether, the Trojans significantly upgraded their ability to compete with the more physical programs in the Big-10.

USC Fall Practice No. 6 (8/3)

Focusing on the New Arrivals

It was a clear focus for head coach Lincoln Riley and his defensive staff. The Trojans added five high school prospects and five college transfers to the defensive line and rush end positions. With the players returning, those position groups look to be well-stocked for the first time in quite a while. Defensive line coach Shaun Nua is certainly happy with what his roster looks like as fall camp gets underway.

Bear Alexander, Kyon Barrs, Jack Sullivan and Anthony Lucas have received a bulk of the attention this offseason along the defensive line. And for good reason. All arrived at USC via the transfer portal as the Trojans once again maneuvered beautifully in adding impact pieces there. Barrs and Sullivan bring a ton of experience and production from Arizona and Purdue, respectively. Alexander and Lucas were prized recruits in the 2022 class who earned playing time as true freshmen and Georgia and Texas A&M. And all are physically impressive.

“I’m a big guy, I love big bodies,” Nua said. “But we don’t want big guys that can’t move…I think that’s what every D-line coach, every team in the country is looking for is big guys that can move.”

Notes & Observations Practice Report: Day 5

**According to the practice schedule, Thursday was the 5th practice of fall camp. However, yesterday, Lincoln Riley mentioned that Wednesday was the 5th day. So…?

**The sun was out on a warm but not unbearable 80-degree Thursday afternoon for USC’s 2:25 PM practice. Not 2:00, 2:15, or 2:30, however, 2:25. Is this a test of discipline for being on time at any given moment?

**Around 5:15 PM the practice ended.

**Not wanting to be late or fight with the traffic, we arrived by 1:15 to shoot some pics and videos of the players and coaches heading to practice. 

**I was reminded of Kobe Bryant and his affinity for USC while walking through the parking structure and saw a license plate displaying, “8 24 GG.” Not sure how the universe really works, however, later the USC basketball sports information director asked me when I was going to make out to basketball practice. The team leaves for Greece & Croatia on Saturday for a tour and to play games.

**Kiel McDonald was next and greeted us with the “It’s always a pleasure to see everyone.” He’s on the day’s interview list with the media after practice. Coach McDonald is one of the more straightforward guys you’ll talk with. I asked him about Raleek Brown’s role as a running back in 2023. He produced a big smile and said, “We have some plans for Raleek.” Here is the video interview here.