2018 USC Trojans football team


The 2018 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and competed as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Clay Helton.
Despite being ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll's preseason rankings, the Trojans finished the season 5–7, the program's first losing record since 2000. USC lost to both of its major rivals, UCLA and Notre Dame, in the same season for the first time since 2013, and it also lost to all other California Pac-12 schools in the same season for the first time since 1996. The team went 4–5 in Pac-12 play, tying Arizona for third place in the Pac-12 South Division.
On November 25, USC athletic director Lynn Swann announced that head coach Clay Helton would return in 2019 despite the disappointing season.

Previous season

The Trojans finished the 2017 season 11–3, 8–1 in Pac-12 play to be champions of the South Division. They represented the South Division in the Pac-12 Championship Game where they defeated Stanford to become Pac-12 Champions. They were invited to play in the Cotton Bowl where they lost 7–24 to Ohio State.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Returning starters

USC returns 31 starters in 2018, including 11 on offense, 13 on defense, and 5 on special teams.
Key departures include Sam Darnold, Ronald Jones II, Deontay Burnett, Steven Mitchell, Jalen Greene, Viane Talamaivao, Nico Falah, Rasheem Green, Josh Fatu, Uchenna Nwosu, Jack Jones, Chris Hawkins, Ykili Ross.
Other departures include James Toland IV, Matt Lopes.

Offense (11)

Defense (13)

Special teams (5)

Transfers

The Trojans lost 5 players due to transfer.

Depth chart

True Freshman

Double Position : *

Recruiting class

Scholarship distribution chart

PositionFreshman Sophomore Junior Senior
QB 3 JT Daniels
––
TB 4 Markese SteppStephen Carr
–Aca'Cedric Ware
FB 1–––*
WR 9 Amon-Ra St. Brown
Devon Williams		Randal Grimes




Michael Pittman Jr.–

TE 4 –Josh Falo
Erik Krommenhoek		Tyler Petite
OL 14 Justin Dedich
Liam Douglass


Austin Jackson

Andrew Vorhees


Chuma Edoga
DL 10
Trevor Trout


Brandon Pili		Connor Murphy

Caleb Tremblay
OLB 8
Kana'i Mauga
Abdul-Malik McClain
Raymond Scott
Eli'Jah Winston		Juliano FalanikoOluwole Betiku Jr.Porter Gustin
ILB 7 Palaie Gaoteote IV

Solomon Tuliaupupu		Levi Jones
Jordan Iosefa		Cameron Smith
CB 9 Olaijah Griffin

Isaac Taylor-Stuart
Chase Williams		–
Isaiah Langley

Iman Marshall
S 5 Talanoa Hufanga
Bubba Bolden
–Marvell Tell III
SP 5 –
Damon Johnson
Chase McGrath*		–*
ATH xxxx

/ / * Former walk-on
– 85 scholarships permitted, 81 currently allotted to players
– 78 recruited players on scholarship
– OT Jalen McKenzie took an advanced scholarship or "blueshirt" limiting USC's class of 2018 to 24.
Projecting Scholarship Distribution 2018

2018 NFL Draft

NFL Combine

The official list of participants for the 2018 NFL Combine included USC football players WR Deontay Burnett, QB Sam Darnold, DE Rasheem Green, TB Ronald Jones II, WR Steven Mitchell Jr. & OLB Uchenna Nwosu.

Team players drafted into the NFL

Schedule

Game summaries

UNLV

Stanford

Texas

Washington State

Arizona

Colorado

Utah

Arizona State

Oregon State

California

UCLA

Notre Dame

Rankings

Statistics

Preseason

Pac-12 Media Days

Pac-12 media days are set for July 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Clay Helton, Porter Gustin & Cameron Smith at Pac-12 media days. The Pac-12 media poll was released with the Trojans predicted to win the Pac-12 South division title.
Media poll

Awards and honors

Awards and honors

Midseason award watch lists

Weekly awards

Major award semifinalists

Honors and Awards Source: 2018 Arizona Media Notes

Players drafted into the NFL

RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
392Chuma EdogaOTNew York Jets
4127Iman MarshallCBBaltimore Ravens
5144Marvell TellSIndianapolis Colts
5162Cameron SmithLBMinnesota Vikings