USC Football: 5 Trojans Make SI’s Top 100 College Football Players of 2016

JuJu Smith-Schuster headlined USC football’s players included in Sports Illustrated’s ranking of the Top 100 players in college football for 2016, along with Zach Banner, Adoree’ Jackson, Cameron Smith and Iman Marshall.

USC football has five players among the Top 100 in the country in 2016 with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Zach Banner, Adoree’ Jackson, Cameron Smith and Iman Marshall earning mentions on Sports Illustrated’s preseason ranking.

SI.com completed the list Monday, revealing the Top 10 featuring one Trojan.

Head coach Clay Helton may not like all the mention’s of how talented his team is, but the presence of so many Trojans on SI’s list suggests USC will at least be well-equipped to face probably the toughest schedule in the nation.

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The most highly ranked player from Troy was Smith-Schuster, who settled in appropriately at No. 9, his number at USC.

Colin Becht raved about Smith-Schuster’s dominance as a junior saying, “His success is no secret, yet defenses still find themselves unable to contain him.”

While Becht didn’t note how even a broken hand couldn’t contain Smith-Schuster, he did argue that the Trojan receiver is the top receiver in the country this year.

Banner, the hulking USC offensive lineman, also made the Top 25, checking in at No. 22.

Gabriel Baumgaertner called Banner a “towering behemoth” who is sure to be a first rounder next year.

Just outside the Top 25, Jackson was ranked the No. 26 player in the country, dubbed by Chris Johnson as “the sort of next-level athlete who’s a threat to break a big play (or hop over a defender or three) whenever he touches the ball.”

Surprisingly, USC placed more defensive players on the list than offensive, with a pair of sophomore’s also getting love from SI.

Smith was listed at No. 59 after his exceptionally bright freshman season.

Becht cited great expectations for the middle linebacker, who is USC’s only returning starter in the front seven.

Finally, Marshall got a mention as the No. 89 player for 2016. In fact, Baumgaertner didn’t hold back the praise for the young cornerback who he judges as “one of the premier cornerbacks in the nation” already after starting most of his freshman season.

Unsurprisingly, Alabama players littered the list from start to finish. Punter JK Scott started things out at No. 100 while the Tide also placed cornerback Eddie Jackson at No. 67, cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick at No. 52, tight end O.J. Howard at No. 43, defensive end Jonathan Allen at No. 34, linebacker Reuben Foster at No. 28, receiver Calvin Ridley at No. 24, linebacker Tim Williams at No. 12 and offensive tackle Cam Robinson at No. 8.

There were a fair few Pac-12 foes also included, though USC’s five representatives were the most of any team from the conference.

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UCLA placed three players in the rankings. Quarterback Josh Rosen was ranked No. 11 with defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes and offensive lineman Connor McDermott joining him at No. 75 and No. 84 respectively.

Washington safety Budda Baker checked in at No. 19, running back Myles Gaskin ranked No. 94 and cornerback Sidney Jones slipped in at No. 99.

Defensive tackle Lowell Lotulelei represented Utah at No. 62. Ute kicker Andy Phillips also ranked rather high at No. 64.

Others who USC fans may be familiar with include Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey at No. 3, Oregon running back Royce Freeman at No. 31, Washington State receiver Gabe Marks at No. 57, Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer at No. 73 and ASU linebacker Salamo Fiso at No. 79.

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