The 2021 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2021 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 sixth-year head coach Clay Helton in the first two games; Helton was fired on September 13 following the team's 42–28 loss to Stanford. Associate head coach Donte Williams took over as the team's interim head coach.
The Trojans finished the 2021 season at 4–8. It was their worst record since 1991, when they went 3–8.
Offseason
Transfers
The Trojans lost nine players via transfer.
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Transfer to Markese Stepp #30 TB 6'0 235 Sophomore Indianapolis, IN Nebraska Cornhuskers Connor Murphy #90 DE 6'7 270 Senior Mesa, AZ UNLV Rebels Palaie Gaoteote IV #1 ILB 6'2 250 Junior Las Vegas, NV Ohio State Buckeyes Abdul-Malik McClain #42 OLB 6’4 245 Sophomore Atlanta, GA Jackson State Tigers Chase McGrath #40 K 6'0 190 Junior Newport Beach, CA Tennessee Volunteers Caleb Tremblay #96 DL 6'5 270 Senior Napa, CA Tennessee Volunteers Munir McClain #2 WR 6'4 210 Sophomore Atlanta, GA Utah Utes Stephen Carr #7 TB 6’0 215 Senior Gardena, CA Indiana Hoosiers Jay Toia #93 DL 6'2 315 Freshman Inglewood, CA UCLA Bruins
The Trojans add nine players and one walk-on player via transfer.
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Transfer from Ishmael Sopsher #42 DL 6'4 334 Sophomore Amite, LA Alabama Crimson Tide Xavion Alford #29 DB 6'0 190 Freshman Pearland, TX Texas Longhorns K.D. Nixon #21 WR 5'8 190 Senior DeSoto, TX Colorado Buffaloes Keaontay Ingram #28 TB 6'0 222 Junior Carthage, TX Texas Longhorns Tahj Washington #16 WR 5'10 170 Freshman Marshall, TX Memphis Tigers Malcolm Epps #19 TE 6'6 244 Sophomore Houston, TX Texas Longhorns Chris Thompson Jr. #30 S 6'2 199 Sophomore Duncanville, TX Auburn Tigers Darwin Barlow #22 TB 5’11 204 Sophomore Newton, TX TCU Horned Frogs Brendan Costello #29 QB (Walk-On) 6’0 192 Freshman San Clemente, CA Oklahoma State Cowboys Jake Smith #82 WR 6'0 200 Junior Scottsdale, AZ Texas Longhorns
Returning Starters
USC returns 26 starters in 2021 including 11 on offense, 12 on defense, and 3 on special teams.
Key departures include Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR – 6 games), Tyler Vaughns (WR – 5 games), Alijah Vera-Tucker (OL – 6 games), Marlon Tuipulotu (DT – 6 games), Olaijah Griffin (CB – 5 games), and Talanoa Hufanga (S – 6 games).
Offense (11) Player Class Position Games started Kedon Slovis – Quarterback 6 games Vavae Malepeai – Running back 3 games Drake London – Wide receiver 6 games Bru McCoy – Wide receiver 3 games Erik Krommenhoek – Tight end 6 games Jalen McKenzie – Offensive tackle 6 games Liam Jimmons – Offensive guard 6 games Andrew Vorhees – Offensive guard 5 games Courtland Ford – Offensive guard 1 game Brett Neilon – Center 5 games Justin Dedich – Center 1 game
Defense (12) Player Class Position Games started Nick Figueroa – Defensive line 5 games Tuli Tuipulotu – Defensive line 4 games Drake Jackson – Defensive end 6 games Ralen Goforth – Linebacker 5 games Kana'i Mauga – Linebacker 4 games Hunter Echols – Outside linebacker 2 games Chris Steele – Cornerback 6 games Isaac Taylor-Stuart – Cornerback 1 game Greg Johnson – Nickelback 3 games Max Williams – Defensive back 3 games Chase Williams – Defensive back 1 game Isaiah Pola-Mao – Safety 6 games
Special teams (3) Player Class Position Games started Parker Lewis – Kicker 6 games Ben Griffiths – Punter 6 games Damon Johnson – Long snapper 6 games
2021 NFL draft
The official list of participants for the 2021 Senior Bowl included USC football player Marlon Tuipulotu (DT).
The official list of participants for the 2021 NFL Combine included USC football players to be announced soon.
Team players drafted into the NFL
Player Position Round Pick NFL Team Alijah Vera-Tucker Offensive tackle 1 14 New York Jets Jay Tufele Defensive tackle 4 106 Jacksonville Jaguars Amon-Ra St. Brown Wide receiver 4 112 Detroit Lions Talanoa Hufanga Safety 5 180 San Francisco 49ers Marlon Tuipulotu Defensive tackle 6 189 Philadelphia Eagles Olaijah Griffin Cornerback UDFA – Buffalo Bills Tyler Vaughns Wide receiver UDFA – Indianapolis Colts
Recruiting class
Personnel
Coaching staff
Name Position Seasons atUSC Alma mater Before USC Donte Williams Interim head coach 2 Idaho State (2006) Oregon – Cornerbacks coach (2019) Graham Harrell Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach 3 Texas Tech (2009) North Texas – Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach (2018) Todd Orlando Defensive coordinator 2 Wisconsin (1993) Texas – Defensive coordinator / linebackers coach (2019) Sean Snyder Special teams coordinator 2 Kansas State (1993) Kansas State – Assistant head coach / special teams coordinator / senior special teams analyst (2019) Mike Jinks Tailbacks coach 3 Angelo State (1993) Bowling Green – Head coach (2018) Keary Colbert Wide receivers coach 7 USC (2006) Alabama – Offensive analyst (2015) Seth Doege Tight ends coach 3 Texas Tech (2011) Bowling Green – Special Teams coordinator / wide receivers coach (2018) Clay McGuire Offensive line coach 1 Texas Tech (2004) Texas State – Offensive line coach (2020) Vic So'oto Defensive line coach 2 BYU (2011) Virginia – Defensive line coach (2019) Michael Hutchings Linebackers coach 4 USC (2017) USC – Defensive quality control analyst (2021) Craig Naivar Defensive backs coach 2 Hardin-Simmons (1993) Texas – Co-Defensive coordinator / Safeties coach (2019) Robert Stiner Jr. Director of Football Sports Performance 1 Belhaven (2008) Notre Dame – Assistant director of football strength and conditioning (2020)
Roster 2021 USC Trojans football rosterQuarterbacks 2 Jaxson Dart Freshman (6'3, 215) 7 Miller Moss Freshman (6'2, 205) 9 Kedon Slovis Junior (6'3, 205) 29 Brendan Costello Sophomore (6'0, 195) 30 Mo Hasan Senior (6'3, 200) 31 Isaac Ward Freshman (6'0, 185) 38 Brad Aoki Junior (5'9, 170)
Tailbacks 6 Vavae Malepeai Senior (6'0, 220) 22 Darwin Barlow Sophomore (5'11, 205) 23 Kenan Christon Junior (5'10, 185) 25 Brandon Campbell Freshman (5'11, 210) 26 Samuel Oram-Jones Senior (5'8, 195) 27 Quincy Jountti Senior (5'11, 210) 28 Keaontay Ingram Senior (6'0, 215) 34 Matt Colombo Freshman (5'11, 195)
Tight ends 8 Michael Trigg Freshman (6'4, 245) 18 Jude Wolfe Sophomore (6'6, 245) 19 Michael Epps Junior (6'6, 245) 46 Grant Jones Senior (6'2, 220) 83 Josh Falo Senior (6'6, 245) 84 Erik Krommenhoek Senior (6'6, 250) 85 Ethan Rae Sophomore (6'5, 235) 87 Lake McRee Freshman (6'4, 235) 88 Kohl Hollinquest Senior (6'4, 240) 89 Sean Mahoney Sophomore (6'6, 230)
Wide receivers 1 Gary Bryant Jr. Sophomore (5'11, 180) 4 Bru McCoy Sophomore (6'3, 220) 10 Kyron Hudson Freshman (6'2, 215) 13 Michael Jackson III Freshman (6'0, 190) 14 Joseph Manjack IV Freshman (6'3, 205) 15 Drake London Junior (6'5, 210) 16 Tahj Washington Sophomore (5'11, 175) 17 Zach Wilson Junior (6'1, 210) 21 K.D. Nixon Senior (5'8, 190) 40 Ty Shamblin Freshman (6'0, 190) 41 Brandon Outlaw Senior (5'9, 170) 42 Danny Ryan Freshman (6'2, 175) 44 Josiah Zamora Freshman (5'10, 175) 49 Grant Zane Freshman (6'3, 190) 80 John Jackson III Junior (6'1, 210) 81 Kyle Ford Sophomore (6'2, 225) 82 Jake Smith Junior (6'0, 200) 86 Chase Locke Sophomore (6'3, 195)
Offensive line 51 Casey Collier Freshman (6'7, 300) 56 Andres Dewerk Freshman (6'7, 310) 57 Justin Dedich Junior (6'2, 300) 60 Maximus Gibbs Freshman (6'7, 390) 61 Joe Bryson Junior (6'8, 295) 62 Brett Neilon Senior (6'2, 295) 63 Damian Lopez Senior (6'5, 305) 64 AJ Mageo Junior (6'5, 310) 66 Gino Quinones Sophomore (6'4, 295) 68 Liam Douglass Junior (6'5, 315) 69 Mark Zuvich Junior (6'3, 245) 70 Jalen McKenzie Senior (6'5, 320) 71 Liam Jimmons Senior (6'5, 320) 72 Andrew Vorhees Senior (6'6, 320) 73 Caadyn Stephen Freshman (6'5, 305) 74 Courtland Ford Freshman (6'6, 305) 75 Ty Buchanan Freshman (6'6, 285) 76 Mason Murphy Freshman (6'6, 315) 77 Jason Rodriguez Sophomore (6'6, 310) 78 Andrew Milek Freshman (6'5, 305) 79 Jonah Monheim Freshman (6'5, 295)
Defensive line 0 Korey Foreman Freshman (6'5, 265) 42 Ishmael Sopsher Sophomore (6'4, 330) 47 Stanley Ta’ufo’ou Sophomore (6'3, 275) 49 Tuli Tuipulotu Sophomore (6'4, 290) 50 Nick Figueroa Senior (6'5, 275) 77 Jamar Sekona Freshman (6'2, 295) 79 De’jon Benton Sophomore (6'2, 270) 90 Colin Mobley Freshman (6'4, 275) 91 Brandon Pili Senior (6'4, 325) 94 Kobe Pepe Freshman (6'2, 310) 95 Maninoa Tufono Sophomore (6'3, 290) 97 Jacob Lichtenstein Junior (6'6, 270)
Outside Linebackers 31 Hunter Echols Senior (6'5, 245) 41 Juliano Falaniko Senior (6'4, 230) 48 Peter Esparza Junior (6'1, 210) 99 Drake Jackson Junior (6'4, 250)
Snappers 39 Jac Casasante Junior (6'0, 215) 53 Nathan Weneta Freshman (6'2, 210) 59 Damon Johnson Senior (6'0, 210)
Linebackers 9 Raesjon Davis Freshman (6'1, 215) 10 Ralen Goforth Junior (6'2, 235) 17 Micah Croom Senior (6'1, 225) 18 Raymond Scott Junior (6'2, 235) 24 Julien Simon Freshman (6'2, 240) 26 Kana'i Mauga Senior (6'2, 245) 34 Eli’jah Winston Junior (6'3, 240) 35 Kaulana Makaula Sophomore (6'3, 220) 36 Clyde Moore Sophomore (6'0, 225) 44 Tuasivi Nomura Sophomore (6'1, 240) 52 Spencer Gilbert Junior (6'0, 220) 54 Tayler Katoa Junior (6'2, 240) 57 Danny Lockhart II Freshman (6'0, 225) 58 Solomon Tuliaupupu Junior (6'3, 225)
Cornerbacks 2 Ceyair Wright Freshman (6'2, 180) 6 Isaac Taylor-Stuart Junior (6'2, 200) 8 Chris Steele Junior (6'1, 190) 13 Adonis Otey Sophomore (6'1, 185) 14 Jayden Williams Junior (6'1, 195) 16 Prophet Brown Freshman (6'0, 185) 22 Dorian Hewett Junior (6'0, 180) 23 Joshua Jackson Jr. Freshman (6'1, 195) 40 L Simpson Freshman (6'2, 190)
Safeties 1 Greg Johnson Senior (5'11, 195) 4 Max Williams Sophomore (5'9, 180) 7 Chase Williams Junior (6'2, 200) 15 Anthony Beavers Jr. Freshman (6'1, 200) 16 Jaylin Smith Freshman (5'11, 180) 21 Isaiah Pola-Mao Senior (6'4, 205) 25 Briton Allen Junior (6'0, 195) 27 Calen Bullock Freshman (6'3, 180) 28 Xamarion Gordon Freshman (6'2, 205) 29 Xavion Alford Jr. Freshman (6'0, 190) 30 Chris Thompson Jr. Sophomore (6'1, 210) 37 Tommy Maurice Freshman (5'9, 185)
Kickers 38 Alex Stadthaus Junior (6'2, 195) 46 Denis Lynch Freshman (5'8, 185) 48 Parker Lewis Sophomore (6'3, 205)
Punters 24 Ben Griffiths Junior (6'7, 240) 35 Michael McAllister Freshman (6'2, 215) 36 Will Rose Sophomore (6'2, 190)2021 USC Football Roster (09/05/2021)
Depth chart
Depth Chart after Week 9 vs. Arizona Wildcats
True Freshman
Injury report
Scholarship distribution chart
Position Freshman (31) Sophomore (20) Junior (23) Senior (21) QB 4 (0) Jaxson Dart Miller Moss – Kedon Slovis TB 6 (1) Brandon Campbell Kenan Christon Keaontay Ingram WR 11 (2) Michael Jackson III Joseph Manjack IV Kyron Hudson Gary Bryant Jr. John Jackson III Drake London Jake Smith TE 7 (8) Lake McRee Michael Trigg OL 18 (1) Ty Buchanan Maximus Gibbs Mason Murphy DL 11 (0) Colin Mobley Tuli Tuipulotu B-BACKER 4 (1) Korey Foreman – Drake Jackson LB 12 (0) Raesjon Davis Julien Simon Spencer Gilbert Ralen Goforth Kana'i Mauga CB 8 (2) Prophet Brown Ceyair Wright Dorian Hewett Chris Steele Jayden Williams – NK 3 (1) Jaylin Smith – S 8 (0) Anthony Beavers Jr. Calen Bullock Xamarion Gordon Chris Thompson Jr. Briton Allen SP 3 (2) – Parker Lewis ATH x x x x
/ / * Former Walk-on
– 85 scholarships permitted, 95 currently allotted to players via extra Seniors.
– 95 recruited players on scholarship
Scholarship Distribution 2021
Schedule
Spring Game Date Time Spring Game Site Result April 17, 2021 1:00 p.m. PDT Cardinal vs Gold United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA Gold 27–7
2021 Cardinal vs Gold Spring Game
Regular season
Conference opponents not played this season: Oregon, Washington
Game summaries
San José State
Stanford
At Washington State
Oregon State
At Colorado
Utah
At No. 13 Notre Dame
Arizona