USC football reloaded via the 2025 class and college football transfer portal. Does this mean Lincoln Riley and company have no returner on the athletically freakish side this season?
The annual “Freaks” list from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic dropped on Monday. Which introduces college football fans to the 50 most athletically gifted talents returning to the field.
No surprise who No. 1 became. Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State claimed the top after a breakthrough true freshman season. However, USC had its own first-year CFB player crack the list.
Defensive lineman Jide Abasiri rose as the columnist's choice out of the Land of Troy. Abasiri is a surprise pick, considering USC brings back talented wide receivers Ja'Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon — both of whom are garnering NFL Draft attention. But Feldman outlined the reasons Abasiri landed 38th overall.
“As a true freshman last year, the former four-star recruit appeared in 10 games and made seven tackles. The 6-5, 295-pounder from Minnesota has intriguing athleticism, having clocked 19.22 mph at nearly 300 pounds. More impressively, Abasiri’s 10-yard split was 1.60, which would be a good time for an edge rusher. He’s squatted 700 pounds,” Feldman wrote.
Is USC in great hands defensively now?
Abasiri hands USC a great future in the trenches. But he's not the prized freshman here for 2025.
One huge college football recruiting addition looks ready to crack the two-deep. Jahkeem Stewart turned heads back in Dec. 2024 by turning down Oregon and LSU. He became a prized five-star addition for Riley and defensive line coach Eric Henderson.
Stewart's arrival comes at a critical time. USC ranked 12th among 18 Big Ten teams in total defense last season. D'Anton Lynn returns as defensive coordinator. He now gets to work with former UCF cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed and longtime NFL defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. The latter taking over the linebackers.
The defensive staff won't have much experience to work with, though. Ryan has a younger LB group but sang praises for Eric Gentry. Anthony Lucas is the lone seasoned starter back at defensive end. Lucas heads into a longer, massive DL unit featuring the newcomer Stewart and fellow freshman edge rusher Elijah Newby.
Riley and USC are picked to finish 9-3 overall. Their conference title chances increase if young players like Abasiri, Stewart grow quickly on defense.
