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 Draft Scout College Football Player News: Southern California
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  Southern California receiver Brenden Rice will forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the NFL draft. The son of Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice made the announcement Friday on social media. Rice was seventh nationally with 12 receiving touchdowns. He also had 45 receptions for 791 yards and averaged 17.6 yards per catch. He was at Colorado in 2020 and '21 before spending the past two seasons at USC. Earlier this week, Rice accepted an invitation to attend the Senior Bowl in January. This is the first year the game is allowing draft-eligible underclassmen to participate. - AP College Football

Sr/2024 WR Brenden RiceSouthern California
News Source: AP College Football
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  2023 MOUNTAIN WEST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: JAYDEN MAIAVA, QB, UNLV,...UNLV's seventh MW Freshman of the Year and the third in the last four seasons...Earned second-team All-Mountain West honors...Came off the bench against Vanderbilt in Week 3 to lead UNLV to the win and started every game thereafter, fashioning a 7-2 record as a starter...Is 186-for-290 for 2,626 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season...Leads all FBS freshmen with a .641 completion percentage, a 152.0 passing efficiency, and 9.06 yards per pass attempt...Threw for at least 200 yards in seven consecutive games to end the regular season and eight games overall, tying him for ninth in a career in UNLV history...Ran for 244 yards and three touchdowns...Earned a record five MW Freshman of the Week citations...Named the College Football Network Freshman Player of the Week for Week 7 after completing a UNLV freshman-record 80 percent of his passes (20-for-25) in a win over Nevada. - Mountain West Football

rSo/2027 QB Jayden MaiavaSouthern California
News Source: Mountain West Football
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  Linebacker Eric Gentry will miss all of spring practice following ankle surgery last month, Riley said. Gentry suffered a high ankle sprain in October and played through the injury in USC's final games. The hope was, with some rest, Gentry would be able to heal without surgery, but it became clear to USC that the procedure would be necessary. Riley said Gentry is expected to be ready for summer workouts with the team. - Orange County Register

Sr/2025 OLB Eric GentrySouthern California
News Source: Orange County Register
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  USC no longer has the nation's sack leader to lean on, and for a defense that finished among the worst in the nation in spite of Tuli Tuipulotu's presence, that's a scary thought. How the Trojans rebuild that pass rush will be a pressing question this spring. Could Anthony Lucas be the answer? A former five-star prospect, Lucas definitely looks the part at 6-6, 270 pounds, but he barely got on the field as a freshman for Texas A&M. USC is hoping a change of scenery could unlock Lucas. If it doesn't, the options on the edge are awfully limited. Romello Height is returning from an injury. Korey Foreman has yet to figure it out. It gets thin in a hurry after that. - Los Angeles Times

Jr/2026 DE Anthony LucasSouthern California
News Source: Los Angeles Times
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  USC wide receiver Jordan Addison has made his official announcement Monday (Jan. 16) to declare for the 2023 NFL Draft. He talked about entering the draft in December, but waited until today, the deadline, to make it official. Addison had a big year for USC this season, his first since leaving Pittsburgh via the transfer portal.

The 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner finished with 59 receptions for 875 yards and eight touchdowns as a key part of a high-powered offense led by quarterback Caleb Williams. Addison's journey from Pitt to USC last year was high-profile. He entered the portal just before the deadline as rumors swirled about a possible NIL deal waiting for him before he officially entered. That led to allegations of tampering by Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi toward Trojans coach Lincoln Riley. - USCFootball.com


Jr/2023 WR *Jordan AddisonSouthern California
News Source: USCFootball.com
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  Looking to improve on their 2022 season, USC is loading up. Former Purdue defensive end Jack Sullivan will be part of USC's defensive front next season. It wasn't lost on anyone, Riley least of all, how much USC relied, game in and game out, on Tuli Tuipulotu getting to the quarterback. Tuipulotu, who led the nation in sacks with 13.5, is off to the NFL, leaving the cupboard even more bare up front for USC. But Riley and his staff have already made some major headway in restocking the position.

USC added a former five-star edge defender from Texas A&M in Anthony Lucas and a productive defensive end in Jack Sullivan, who broke out last season at Purdue. Arizona transfer Kyon Barrs was "one of the more explosive interior defensive linemen in the league," according to Riley, and should offer a boost where USC desperately needed one. Oklahoma State inside linebacker Mason Cobb was an All-Big 12 selection last season and almost certainly will be a starter, while Riley has raved about the playmaking ability of Georgia State edge rusher Jamil Muhammad. - Los Angeles Times


rSr/2024 DE Jack SullivanSouthern California
News Source: Los Angeles Times
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  Looking ahead to the loaded 2024 quarterback draft class: Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams headlines the group after his masterful season at USC. Williams threw for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns, adding 10 more scores on the ground. He is in line to be the next first-round pick from Lincoln Riley's offense. Joining Williams in the Pac-12 are two excellent senior quarterbacks, Bo Nix (Oregon) and Michael Penix (Washington). The former transfers broke out on the scene with their news programs in 2022 and are ready to run it back next season.

Drake Maye shot up draft boards following his fantastic redshirt freshman season. He helped lead UNC to the ACC championship game, throwing 38 touchdowns in the process. Maye looks the part of a future NFL quarterback. Texas' Quinn Ewers is a prime candidate to take a massive jump going forward. He has one of the best arms in the nation and should be more comfortable in the starting role. - USA Today


Jr/2024 QB Caleb WilliamsSouthern California
News Source: USA Today
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  In USC's' 43-42 Pac-12 Championship loss to Utah in Salt Lake City, T rojan defenders missed 18 tackles, gave up 291 of the Utes' whopping 562 yards in the second half, allowed three first downs by penalty and had just one tackle for loss. Then on Jan. 2 they gave up 16 points in the final 4:07 of the season to succumb to Tulane, 46-45.

But head coach Lincoln Riley is keeping defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. But the Trojans are bulking up their defense. Via the transfer portal they will add Arizona defensive lineman Kyon Barrs, a second team All-Pac-12 honoree in 2021 and Oklahoma State linebacker Mason Cobb, second team All Big 12 in 2022. The Trojans also recruited nine top high school defenders, including three four-star prospects who include highly touted talents such as Braylan Shelby, an edge rusher, and Tackett Curtis, a linebacker. - Orange County Register


rSr/2024 DT Kyon BarrsSouthern California
News Source: Orange County Register
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  Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams delivered USC its first Heisman Trophy winner since Reggie Bush in 2005 this season. But unlike the legendary Trojans running back, Williams is able to capitalize on the win in the NIL space. And even though he was not preparing for the College Football Playoff finals earlier this week, he was able to strike a partnership for the event. He spent part of his weekend at College Football Playoff fan central as part of a partnership with AT&T. Set up at the brand's "Fan Bowl," Williams signed autographs and took pictures with fans. And he appeared at AT&T's 5G Radio Show at the Allstate Championship Tailgate at SoFi Stadium on Monday. Since making the move to the West Coast last February, he has pieced together one of the strongest NIL resumes of any player in the country. The USC quarterback currently holds a $3.2 million On3 NIL Valuation. - On3.com

Jr/2024 QB Caleb WilliamsSouthern California
News Source: On3.com
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  Former Texas A&M defensive lineman Anthony Lucas has committed to USC. Lucas, a former five-star recruit in the Top247 rankings for the Class of 2022, will have three years of eligibility and joins the Trojans as a true sophomore. The 6-6, 270-pound Chapparal High School product and Scottsdale (Ariz.) native had 10 tackles and one tackle for a loss this past season.

Lucas is an NFL prototype player who will have immediate impact on the USC defense and should start for the next two seasons. In 2023 he will play alongside another former five-star recruit, Korey Foreman. Lucas was a member of Texas A&M's historic 2022 recruiting class that ranked No. 10 all time, but the Aggies and Jimbo Fisher have now lost Chris Marshall at wide receiver to Ole Miss and Denver Harris at cornerback to LSU. Both were five stars along with Lucas. - Trojanswire.com


Jr/2026 DE Anthony LucasSouthern California
News Source: Trojanswire.com
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  USC's backfield was bound to be more crowded next season before the top available rusher in the transfer portal announced Friday that he would be a Trojan. The arrival of South Carolina running back MarShawn Lloyd, who led the Gamecocks in rushing last season with 573 yards, seemed to suggest USC had found its new lead back for 2023. Less than three hours later, Austin Jones announced he would return for a second go-round at USC, ensuring serious competition for carries next season.

Jones, also a former transfer, played a secondary role to Travis Dye in 2022, tallying 705 yards and five touchdowns to go with 267 yards receiving and another touchdown. He took over the reins when Dye suffered a season-ending injury in November and averaged 92.5 yards per game over the season's final month. In the run-up to the Cotton Bowl loss to Tulane, Jones said he wasn't sure whether he'd return to USC for a fifth season. That decision had crystallized by Friday, leaving USC with a litany of backs to choose from in what could be a wide-open competition come spring. - Los Angeles Times


rSr/2024 RB Austin JonesSouthern California
News Source: Los Angeles Times
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  Southern California All-America defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu will enter the NFL draft. Tuipulotu, who led the FBS with 13 1/2 sacks as a junior, announced his decision on social media Tuesday. The 6-foot-4, 290 pound edge rusher had two tackles and one sack in the eighth-ranked Trojans' 46-45 loss to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl on Monday. He finished his college career with 21 sacks and 32 tackles for loss in 32 games. The younger brother of USC and Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Marlon Tuipulotu, Tuli impressed as a freshman during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season by getting two sacks and 2 1/2 tackles for loss in six games.

His last season was his best, with Tuipulotu finishing second nationally in tackles for loss with 22. The defensive equivalent to Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams, Tuipulotu's disruptive play helped a flawed defense lacking talent and depth - USC allowed 29.2 points per game and 6.5 yards per play - produce timely negative plays and takeaways. Tuipulotu received the Morris Trophy as the best defensive lineman in the Pac-12, an award voted on by players. He was also a finalist for the Bednarik and Nagurski Awards presented to the top defender in college football and the Lombardi Award for the top offensive or defensive lineman. Led by Williams and Tuipulotu, USC finished 11-3 and played in the Pac-12 title game and a New Year's Six bowl in coach Lincoln Riley's first season. The Trojans were 4-8 in 2021 when Clay Helton was fired as coach after two games. - AP College Football


Jr/2023 DE *Tuli TuipulotuSouthern California
News Source: AP College Football
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  Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams said he is ready to play in the Cotton Bowl on Monday, which will be exactly one month after the Southern California quarterback suffered a significant hamstring injury in the Pac-12 championship game. "I feel good," Williams said Friday. "We're obviously all being smart about it because it did just happen a couple of weeks ago. But I've been feeling good." Williams got hurt on a 59-yard run in the first half of USC's loss to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 2. While obviously and admittedly in pain the rest of the game, he still finished with 363 yards passing and three touchdowns. "As soon as it happened, I actually tried to wave off coach (Lincoln) Riley for the next play," Williams said. "So I felt it as soon as it happened." Riley, who wasn't made available to reporters Friday, had said after the injury that Williams would need a lot of rehab to have a chance to play in the game against Tulane.

After practice at AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys where the game will be played, Williams it has felt "like normal prep" for him since the Trojans got to North Texas earlier this week. While not elaborating on what he has done, he said he anticipates playing the entire game after the extended time since the Pac-12 title game. "If it was still the same as if I just injured it, i wouldn't go out there because I don't think I'd be as good of a help," Williams said. "During that game, I was already in the game, I was already in the flow of everything. But starting off with an injury like that, it'd be a little different." Asked if he felt he was capable of doing everything he will need to do in the Cotton Bowl, Williams responded, "we'll see when I get out there. But I think I'm capable." Williams, who went with Riley from Oklahoma to Southern California after last season, has thrown for 4,075 yards and 37 touchdowns with four interceptions this year, and has run for 372 yards and 10 more scores. - Southern California/AP College Football


Jr/2024 QB Caleb WilliamsSouthern California
News Source: Southern California/AP College Football
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  USC will be without both its top receiving target and its top offensive lineman for the Cotton Bowl, as each focuses on putting nagging injuries behind them ahead of the NFL draft process. Wideout Jordan Addison has elected not to play in the bowl game, USC coach Lincoln Riley said Wednesday, in order to rehab the nagging ankle injury that kept him out for a month earlier this season. Addison's decision to sit out the bowl game almost certainly marks the end of a brief, one-year tenure at USC.

The Biletnikoff Award winner with Pitt in 2021, Addison transferred to USC less than a year ago and finished tied for the Pac-12 lead with eight receiving touchdowns this season, despite missing time with the ankle injury. He's expected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft. If he is, that'll mark two straight seasons in which a USC receiver was selected in the first round, following Drake London this year. - Los Angeles Times


Jr/2023 WR *Jordan AddisonSouthern California
News Source: Los Angeles Times
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  Jarrett Kingston, a three-year starter on Washington State's offensive line and the team's top performer up front this season, entered the NCAA's transfer portal on Monday, according to multiple reports. Kingston provided consistent play for an unsteady position group this year, anchoring the offensive line at left tackle before suffering a season-ending lower-body injury Nov. 5 at Stanford. Even before Monday's news, Kingston was not expected to return to WSU in 2023. He participated in senior night celebrations Nov. 26.

The 6-foot-5, 302-pounder had drawn some attention from NFL scouts this year and Cougs coach Jake Dickert told reporters that Kingston might try his hand at the professional level. "We'd absolutely love to have Jarrett back," Dickert said three days before WSU's regular season finale against Washington. "I think he's looking at taking an opportunity at the next level that we fully support. I don't think any decision has been completely finalized … but I want them walking (on senior night) if they don't know. Jarrett absolutely deserves this opportunity. Whatever happens after the season, he'll make that decision and what's best for him, and we'll be involved and excited for him." - Spokesman-Review


rSr/2024 OG Jarrett KingstonSouthern California
News Source: Spokesman-Review
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