Ahh… The business of college football, the constant movement in the office, the whistles from the field, the smell of fresh cut grass. It is 2028 pre-season, the time to reflect on the past, present, and future. AD Greyghost in full evaluation mode, it is a site to see. Three computer monitors staring him in the face, busy with the phone headset talking to scouts, it is obvious who is in control of USC Trojan football. “We look at the 2027 football season as a huge success. We won the division title again, had 2 All-Americans, 1 Freshman All-American, and brought back the entire nucleus. How can we be upset? Sure we beat both teams that were in the championship which is bittersweet, but at the end of the day 2027 was a great success for our players, fans, and coaches.” The Trojans once again won the division with a 12-3-1 record, but lost in OT to Rutgers. The then and now has been taken care of, but let’s look at the future. Here are the stories from training camp.

1-28 DB Calvin Williams
Williams took a bit of a hit, but the scouts figured he would bounce 3 in either direction, he did a -3. Williams although not great speed, he has great value in his pass *defensive attributes. There is a chance he will start, but the overall view was to find a replacement for CB David Thompson who will be leaving this season.

2-28 OL Robert Hart
Hart dropped a bit -1, but still is being penciled in as the future replacement for RT Lester Harvey. There were some that were questioning this pick, but in the overall view it fits with what greyghost has done since his arrival in slowly building the offensive line.

3-28 WR/RB/TE Darrell List
This was a nice surprise that fell into USC’s lap. The only drawback was he speed at 66, but his other important attributes *are in the high 80’s and 90’s. He improved in training camp +2, which USC scouts say is an 86 on their board. He will get playing time, right now he is slated to start at TE, with some wide receiver time and touches at running back.

4-28 OL Francis Trojan
Trojan was originally signed to back up last seasons freshman starter Stanley Dinges. Dinges was a late signing last season day 6, but went unnoticed during the season allowing just 2 sacks. Now we said originally, Trojan decided to improve to the tune of a +4 and is in direct competition with Dinges. This is going to be a highly contested battle in the pre-season.

5-28 WR Clifton Moreira
Clifton was viewed on signing day #5 as okay, let’s take the fastest WR available, maybe he will turn into something. Moreira has improved and created a great complication for the coaching staff. Although he only increased at +3, has made a statement and will probably make the team. The Trojans have 10 players listed at the WR depth chart so it is unknown where.

6-28 TE Samuel Newman
Newman was involved in an altercation on campus and has been removed from the team. -14

7-28 OL Sylvester Moreno
He will now be known as the little engine that could after a +6 in training camp. On a team that values offensive lineman, he currently lines up at #2 RG. A big step for such a late signing.

BREAKING NEWS!
Yes, signing day took place, but there was a bigger story the engulfed training camp for the Trojans. It is 5th year red shirt Junior LB Adam Thompson bringing the heat with a +2(his progress over a 5 year period is wild, check it out). He has improved so much that there is talk in the Trojan front office he may unseat one of the starters Jaylon Ferguson or John Houston jr. This is one of the battles to watch in the pre-season, there are others.

WR’s- all 10 of them
QB- Plank vs. Slovis
LT- Dinges vs. Trojan
RT- Havey vs. Hart
LB- Thompson vs. Ferguson vs. Houston jr.
DB- Adams vs. everyone except Inman and Rice

“At USC we play every game as it is our last, we don’t allow excuses such as injured players, we had our share last season Carr, Murphy(twice), Coney, Ferguson, and Jackson who nursed injuries all season or strength of schedule, we split with the Independent conference and swept the Big 12. We are here to win and part of that is beating not just the good teams in our division, but the good teams outside the division also. We would be happy going 14-2 every year, losing both games to UCLA as long as we win the division. We root for *UCLA to make the bowl games, just as we did last year. It strengthens our division and our conference.” Said ghost.

The first quarter of the 2028 campaign has come to a close and the Trojans finds themselves sitting at 4-0. “Yes we have gotten off to a fantastic start, we expected to be 2-2 or 3-1 at this point” said AD greyghost. The Trojans started with three road games, two were against BYU and division rival UCLA, obviously both wins. “The Bruins and Cougars are always tough and we were fortunate to come away with victories going into their house” added ghost. The next 4 games for USC promise to be equally tough with two against an improving Utah squad, Washington, and Washington St.

One of the things the Trojans wanted to improve this off-season was their offensive game plan. The thinking was they were one dimensional with the only weapon being All-American RB Stephen Carr. “Carr is a brutal weapon for opposing teams to defend without a doubt, but when he was injured last season our team suffered” said ghost. The changes have become apparent quickly as 8 different players have scored td’s with the leader being WR Deontay Burnett with 5. Carr has also not had as many carries in the past with 64 for 204 yards, Ware has 50 for 200 yards, followed by walk on former LSU QB turned RB Curtis Howze 16 carries, 57 yards. The players on offense that are difference makers so far have been WR Burnett, WR Jackson III, and USC poster boy QB Mary Plank. Burnett has become a huge playmaker catching only 15 *****, but they have been large. He has compiled 461 yards and 5 scores, and an amazing 30.7 ypc average. Blue Chipper John Jackson III who was injured most of the 2027 season, has 21 catches, 261 yards, and 2 scores. Then there is Plank the warrior, amidst the turmoil when the new AD came in, continues to show he can lead the Trojans. He is the current leader in the NCAA in td passes with 13 while USC has one of the lowest pass attempts average in the league. “One of the big differences this season is we made Mary a part of the game planning process in the QB room with his ideas and involvement. Mary along Kedon’s thoughts are important for the Trojans going forward” added ghost.

Although the offense is tough the scariest part of the Trojans may be their defense. They are led by All-American DE Connor Murphy who finished last season with 16 hurries and 10 sacks. This season he is tied for the league lead with 6 sacks and has added 7 hurries through 4 games. If opposing teams think they can key on Murphy and everything will be fine, guess again. There is another player making a name on the defensive line in Jay Tufele. Tufele does not have the sack numbers, only 2, but has 14 hurries. The Trojans defensive line overall have 11 sacks and 28 hurries. Still that is not the eye raiser on the defense. It is CB Inman Marshall’s 7 interceptions and 40.9 allowed %. When #1 CB Jonathan Rice went down to injury in the first game, Marshall along with final year DB David Thompson and freshman DB/LB Calvin Williams(2nd on the team in tackles)stepped up. Well, Rice returns this week and things are looking good on the defensive front.

An additional note and I am *not sure about records, but this is pretty good. K John Shelby has kicked 32 field goals in a row without a miss. He missed 2 in the first game of the 2027 season and hasn’t missed since. Now that I mention this, I am sure he will miss his next one, lol.