Three Questions Regarding USC’s Offensive Line Heading Into Summer
Welcome to the USC football offseason! Summer has crept up so it won’t be long before the Trojans reconvene following their break between spring finals and the summer player-run practices. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t questions that need answering before the Trojans kick off the season in Las Vegas.
As the summer temps heat up, WeAreSC.com looks at each position group’s top questions. Next up, the offensive line.
Questions Looking For Answer:
USC quarterbacks
Wide Receivers
Running Backs
Will the starting five guys need to stay healthy for USC to have a successful season?
There are more than three questions regarding USC’s 2024 offensive line, however these three are the most pressing if the Trojans want success on the offensive side of the ball. So while the competition continues during the summer and into the season, at least in coachspeak theory, USC’s staff knows who they want starting when the Trojans season opens in Las Vegas.
Everyone knows the quarterback’s best friend is the guy protecting the blindside, and last year Jonah Monheim was Caleb Williams’s bestie. RS Freshman Elijah Paige is going to be the starting left tackle and Mason Murphy is going to be at the other tackle spot in 2024. In a perfect world where injuries don’t happen, Josh Henson can rely on his guys with the most game experience at the tackle spots so he won’t have to pull his Ace in the Hole Card.–Many assume Jonah will slide back outside if necessary with others like Gino Quinones waiting to get back in the game.
Most consider the offensive line’s interior as the group’s strength. Monheim has already shown the NFL why he should be considered a 1st round draft pick; he’s played four of the 5 offensive line spots, so why not be the starting center in 2024.– Emmanuel Pregnon will be the left guard and Alani Noa who started at right guard as a true freshman last season, anticipates doing the same in 2024 as a sophomore.
The question is about the backups. They’re young.–Like really young and more help is on the way from the 2024 recruiting class.
USC’s schedule in 2024 isn’t easy despite what the ESPN computers says, no matter who plays quarterback, and regardless of how much talent is ready at the skill positions, there is little room for error upfront.
Is there enough depth?
The numbers, yes. But there is more to it than just having enough numbers.
My question is there enough experienced depth and is there a good balance between guys who can play on the interior and those who protect against the speed rushers?
The roster post-spring has 11 guys with Quinones, Kilian O’Connor, Pregnon. Murphy, and Monheim being the upperclassmen. The backup at left tackle is true freshman Justin Tauanuu, and backing up Murphy is 2nd year player Tobias Raymond. The subject may come to surface at some point this season because there just aren’t that many upperclassmen in USC’s offensive line room. So as we head into the summer the guys who are going to be responsible for protecting the edges better have their big boy pants on because it doesn’t look like the transfer portal is coming to the rescue any time soon.
Is USC’s size upfront an issue?
Not according to Trojans’ head coach Lincoln Riley who talked about it this spring.
“I do think we’re going to have the ability right now to move more people off of the ball than we have had in the first two years,” Riley said. “We’ve got a little bit more mass and a little bit more girth with us. We’re starting to look more like the [offensive line] at USC ought to look like. I think that’s very exciting.”
Mark Twain was a great writer and he once penned, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” However, Twain never played college football and size matters in football.–Especially when you’re playing in the trenches.
Even though the style of play varies from one conference to the next, when it comes to the offensive linemen, you want guys who are big, strong, and play with a bully’s attitude. But you also want guys who are flexible enough to bend and absorb energy, doing whatever’s necessary to protect the quarterback from guys who have bad intentions.
If Coach Riley’s “trained eyes” are correct, then maybe he finally likes what he sees inside the offensive line room.
The post Three Questions Regarding USC’s Offensive Line Heading Into Summer appeared first on On3.
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