If you followed Trojans Wire’s coverage of USC football last season (and I did, before I came aboard as a writer), one theme which was impossible to miss was that the Trojans were soft in 2023.
Here’s a snippet from a piece written in October of 2023:
USC was supposed to be tougher this season. The Trojans were supposed to be stronger and more robust on defense. This is Year 2 of Alex Grinch. Players were supposed to be more familiar with the system. The strength and conditioning program was supposed to take effect and create tougher, more durable players. The understandable weaknesses and limitations of Year 1 were supposed to give way to a better product in Year 2.
That development from Year 1 to Year 2 did not happen. As a result, the players representing USC in the 2024 NFL scouting combine have a ton to prove. Let’s look at these NFL prospects: