Several USC Trojans make Athlon Sports’ list of Pac-12’s top 25 players
The Pac-12 enters one of its more anticipated college football seasons in recent memory in 2023. The conference is loaded with quality teams. Not coincidentally, the conference is loaded with superb quarterbacks and turbo-charged offenses. Within this context, it is fascinating to identify which players made the cut and thereby cracked the Athlon Sports rankings of the top 25 players in the conference for the upcoming season.
What is the balance between offensive and defensive players in the conference? That’s the biggest overall question worth tackling if you are evaluating the full Pac-12. When we drill deeper and focus specifically on USC, which Trojans not only made the cut, but were able to do so from the defensive side of the ball, where the Men of Troy are obviously weaker? We know one person who is definitely among the Pac-12’s top 25 players — no one has to guess about that one — but what about the others?
Let’s take a look at the Trojans which did — and didn’t — make Athlon’s Pac-12 list:
CALEB WILLIAMS
This selection requires no explanation whatsoever. Caleb Williams is the best player in college football. Whether that translates to a second Heisman Trophy is a separate matter. He is the runaway favorite to be the top pick in next year’s NFL draft.
DORIAN SINGER
Singer checked in at No. 8 on the list. He is the Jordan Addison replacement for 2023. If he is as good as Addison was, USC will be happy.
CALEN BULLOCK
Bullock is No. 9 on this list. This is USC’s first defensive player on the Athlon list. Is there a second one?
Bullock is very good, but USC’s secondary as a whole was not able to minimize the deficiencies along the defensive line in the Trojans’ last two disastrous defensive performances in the 2022 season. Let’s see if Bullock gets more help … and can make more of an overall impact on the scoreboard.
JUSTIN DEDICH
Dedich is at No. 19. His decision to come back for one more season was huge. Brett Neilon and Andrew Vorhees are gone, but Dedich gives this line veteran experience and someone Caleb Williams fully trusts. If Dedich remains healthy, this offensive line should be very strong in 2023.
THAT'S IT
Those are the four Trojans who made the cut. No one else did. You will notice that only one defensive player made the cut. Alex Grinch needs to shine in player development this year. We need to see a lot of defensive players take the next step in their evolution at USC.
NOTABLES WHO MISSED THE CUT: MASON COBB
If there is a particularly notable omission from Athlon’s list, it’s probably Mason Cobb, the transfer linebacker from Oklahoma State. Cobb is a thoroughly proven player, but the fact that he’s not a top-25 Pac-12 player shows how much skepticism remains about USC’s defense. Sure, the Pac-12 has lots of really good players, but Cobb not even getting into the back end of this list is an eye-opener. The Trojans really need to prove the doubters wrong on defense.
NOTABLE OMISSION: JARRETT KINGSTON
New USC OL Jarrett Kingston started at LT for Washington State last season, but OL coach/OC Josh Henson said that he sees Kingston as an interior lineman at the next level, “and that’s probably what we’ll focus him on.”
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) March 9, 2023
Kingston will help Dedich make the USC offensive line a force once again, but he wasn’t prominent enough to crack the top 25 player list in the Pac-12.
NOTABLE OMISSION: ANTHONY LUCAS
There are no defensive linemen for USC on this list. This is the position group where the Trojans have to make significant improvements if they want to reach the College Football Playoff.
