As spring football gets underway, the Trojans will look to replace their 3 most important players on their offense from last season.
The first is Sam Darnold, a projected top pick in this year’s NFL draft and the quarterback who helped usher USC back into prominence by delivering a Rose Bowl victory as well as a Cotton Bowl Berth. The next is Ronald Jones II, the workhorse running back for the Trojans who rushed for 1500 yards and 19 touchdowns this year and finished 4th on the all-time USC rushing list.
The third main piece of the Trojans’ offense that USC will have to replace is Deontay Burnett, who before the emergence of Tyler Vaughns and Michael Pittman, served as Darnold’s most reliable target and finished with over 1000 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns.
Quarterback
Whoever has to fill in Sam Darnold’s enormous shoes will have their work cut out for them next season. Currently, the two most likely players to replace the former heisman candidate are Matt Fink and Jack Sears. Fink, the more experienced of the two, served as the primary backup last season while Sears elected to take a redshirt year.
USC will also welcome in quarterback J.T. Daniels, the former Mater-Dei quarterback who led the Monarchs to an undefeated season and was regarded as the best quarterback in the 2019 class before reclassifying into the 2018 class. In his final season at Mater Dei, Daniels put up video-game like numbers.
According to 24/7 sports, he scored 62 total touchdowns while only throwing 4 interceptions. While Fink and Sears both will have the upper-hand on Daniels come the fall, it's difficult to imagine that they have anywhere near the ceiling that Daniels has. I expect Daniels to come in and win the job, ushering USC into a new era post-Darnold.
Prediction: J.T. Daniels
Running Back
While finding a replacement for Darnold should be the biggest priority for USC, running back will be a close second. During his three year tenure with the team, Ronald Jones, affectionately called RoJo by many Trojan fans, cemented himself as one of the USC greats, finishing 4th on the all-time USC rushing list. Thankfully for the Trojans, there looks to be a solid replacement in place.
Former five-star running back Stephen Carr came on strong during his freshman campaign and while he only had 363 total yards and 3 touchdowns, his performances in the season opener vs. Western Michigan and Stanford in September should solidify his role as a workhorse for the Trojans in 2017-2018.
If Carr can’t stay healthy, USC still has a plethora of options with veteran Aca’Cedric Ware and Vavae Malepeai who both played well in stretches last season.
Prediction: Stephen Carr
Wide Receiver
On the outside, Tyler Vaughns and Michael Pittman both look like the future for the Trojans. Described by many as “big men with little men skills”, they should be huge contributors for USC next season regardless of who is throwing to them. However, USC still has to replace Deontay Burnett, who despite his lack of size, had over 1000 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns last year.
While Trevon Sidney, Velus Jones Jr., and Josh Imatorbhebhe are all viable candidates to fill in for Burnett, none have the ceiling of Amon-Ra St. Brown, an incoming freshman and arguably the best receiver in the 2018 class. His combination of route-running and playmaking should impress coaches and will be a perfect complement to the skills of Vaughns and Pittman.
Prediction: Amon-Ra St.Brown
