If you have noticed, multiple USC offensive players originally recruited to play a specific position have been reassigned to other positions. Raleek Brown was originally recruited as a running back. Duce Robinson was originally recruited as a tight end.
Neither will play at their original position this season, or at least, not at the start of the 2023 campaign. Both men have been moved to receiver positions. Brown will leave a loaded running back room so that Lincoln Riley can use him in open space. Robinson won’t be a tight end so that — presumably, at least — he can play a more defined role as a field-stretching pass catcher. He might be for USC what Kyle Pitts became for Florida a few seasons ago.
Miles Dwyer of Ducks Wire wrote about Duce Robinson:
“As mentioned above, Duce Robinson is the consensus pick for the No. 1 TE in the class of 2023. It is impossible to predict whether recruits will turn out or not, but Robinson has all the right tools to make a quick impact on the already-phenomenal USC offense. In 2022, USC didn’t use TEs in their passing game very often, which may change in 2023 after the addition of two top-tier TE recruits.”
Tight end usage becomes a hollow subject. It’s less important that Duce Robinson does or doesn’t play tight end. It’s more important that he serves a specific purpose within USC’s offense. That’s what matters.
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