LAS VEGAS -- USC, along with other schools in the Big 10 such as UCLA, Iowa, Purdue, Michigan, and Michigan State, took center stage on day three of the Big 10 Media Days set in Las Vegas as these prestigious programs await the start of the 2025 college football season.
We got our first look at the expectations that the USC football team and its staff have ahead of their 2025 campaign.
Trojans Head Coach Lincoln Riley, entering his fourth year at USC, was confident about the team's sufficiency of depth and support during this year's Big 10 Media Day.
"It's very apparent that USC is extremely serious about making this football program and returning it back to being one of the greats of college football," Riley said in his opening statement at the podium. "With our current team, seeing how our roster has evolved on all sides, especially defensively, after the huge improvements that we've made a year ago. The championship-caliber depth that is starting to be established all across the board is something that we have all worked hard for."
For the Trojans, their journey to the 2025 season begins in the city where they finished last year as Las Vegas Bowl champions, winning a tough game against Texas A&M with a final score of 35-31. Jayden Maiava, now entering his sophomore year as a Trojan, started at quarterback in the bowl game and showed out, throwing for 256 yards on a 56.4% completion rate (22/ 39) and four touchdowns.
"His arm talent and his decisiveness in which he plays and how he sees things is really unique and has a chance to be really special," Riley stated on Maiava's talent at quarterback. "We have really focused in on two big areas this offseason, him continuing to find his voice as a leader, in which he's really grown and matured and has become comfortable with and I think the second for him, like a lot of young quarterbacks that we've had that become pretty solid players, is making sure that you're mistakes don't kill us."
A major focus of USC's offseason was their use of the transfer portal and the large amount of talent they acquired, totaling 16 players from the portal. Additionally, the Trojans are welcoming 13 freshmen to the team.
"When you're at USC, the core beliefs in terms of how you build a program is always going to start from your high school recruiting, specifically in Los Angeles, and then your ability to develop that," Riley said in regards to his core high school recruits and their development. "That's where we want to be long term, and it's where we have always wanted to be long term, and I think that's why you are seeing us recruiting the way that we have."
Three players on the USC roster joined Coach Riley on media day, including safety Kamari Ramsey, offensive lineman Elijah Paige, and wide receiver Makai Lemon.
"Our attitude stays the same, we want to win," says Paige, who acts as the veteran presence for this Trojans team and will go into the 2025 season leading the offensive line.
"I am very excited," Ramsey said regarding how excited he feels for the start of the upcoming season. "We have a great coaching staff, great players, great nutrition staff. It takes a village, and I think we have a great village to take us where we want to go."
"We wanna keep the main thing the main thing," Lemon said regarding if any attitude switches were made during the offseason heading into USC's second year playing in the Big 10. "Don't worry about the outside noise and play USC-branded football."
Excitement is brewing for the Trojans as their 2025 season is just a slant's route away, but they have to wait until August 30 for the official start of their season as they take on Missouri State at the Colesium and face off against their first Big Ten opponent on the schedule in Purdue on September 13.