Cameron Smith Takes No. 55 Jersey and More USC Football News

Linebacker Cameron Smith is listed as the new No. 55 on USC football’s 2016 roster, plus more Trojan news from around the web.

Can’t get enough USC football and basketball news? We’ve got your morning dose of all the best content from around the web concerning the men of Troy.

1st & 10:

First Take… UPDATE 6/14: USC’s roster has been changed to list Cameron Smith back at No. 35 with the No. 55 standing vacant once more. The freshmen numbers remain as they were.

There’s been no indication whether or not listing Smith at No. 55 on Monday was a mistake or simply prematurely revealed.

ORIGINAL: It seems USC has a new No. 55, while the crop of 2016 Trojan freshman finally have their new numbers.

Cameron Smith, who wore No. 35 as a freshman, is now listed at No. 55 on USC’s 2016 roster. The last Trojan to wear the famous linebacker number was Lamar Dawson, but he failed to live up to the legacy of the jersey after taking it on as a freshman.

Following Dawson’s graduation, speculation about who would take on the jersey made special by the likes of Junior Seau, Willie McGinest, Chris Claiborne and Keith Rivers. However, there were no indications that it would be assigned a new home.

If there was one player deemed worthy, it was Smith. His stellar freshman season suggests the number will thrive once more on the Trojan defense. He was second on the team in tackles before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Colorado.

Notably among the freshmen, cornerback Jack Jones took on the No. 1, which might limit his ability to get in the game on offense with Darreus Rogers already holding the number. However, he is listed as a DB-WR, as is Keyshawn “Pie” Young, who now shares the No. 17 with early enrollee receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe.

Receiver Tyler Vaughns took up Su’a Cravens old No. 21 while Velus Jones Jr. shares No. 23 with cornerback Jonathan Lockett.

Here’s the full list of new freshman (and JC transfer) numbers:

Jack Jones — #1Keyshawn “Pie” Young — #17Tyler Vaughns — #21Velus Jones Jr. — #23Vavae Malepeai — #29Jamel Cook — #31Jordan Iosefa — # 48Frank Martin — #65E.J. Price — #75Trevon Sidney — #81Cary Angeline — #86Connor Murphy — #90Josh Fatu — #98

Also of note on the roster, Ajene Harris and Jalen Greene remain listed at receiver and quarterback respectively despite spending time at cornerback and wide receiver this offseason.

And Ten USC Football and Basketball News Links…

1. “Andrew Vorhees Commits to 2017 USC Recruiting Class” (Reign of Troy)USC picked up their second offensive line recruit in three days on Friday, bringing the 2017 Class up to seven commits.
2. “5-Star DT Marvin Wilson Drops Loaded Top 10” (College Spun)Wilson named USC alongside Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Florida State, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Ole Miss and UCLA in his Top 10 Saturday. He’s the No. 3 overall recruit for 2017.
3. “CFB Blue Bloods That Seemingly Never Play Each Other” (Bleacher Report)It’s been 38 years since USC and Alabama faced off in the regular season and 31 years since they played at all. That a few more Trojan mentions in this look at the rarity of match ups between college football giants.
4. “Breakout Player to Watch on Every Power 5 Team in 2016” (Bleacher Report)Malik Dorton is projected as the Breakout star for USC this coming season. Considering Dorton’s strong Spring Camp that’s a good shout.
5. “College football roundtable: Best fight song” (ESPN)ESPN writers named the top fight song from each Power 5 conference with USC’s “Fight On” talking the prize for the Pac-12.
6. “Lawyer for Nelson Agholor ‘confident that he will not be charged'” (NJ.com)Following an allegation of sexual assault against Agholor on Friday, new details have emerged to suggest that the former Trojan receiver will be cleared of wrong-doing, though the investigation is still ongoing.
7. “Randall Cunningham’s son follows in his footsteps” (LA Times)USC track star Randall Cunningham Jr. won the NCAA championship for high jump Friday. He’s been rumored to be considering suiting up for USC football in the future.
8. “Anthony Davis and the Repercussions of a Football Career” (HuffPost Sports)Davis appeared on the Scheer Intelligence podcast to talk about his book “Kick-Off Concussion: How the Notre Dame Killer Recovered His Brain.” In the interview he talks about how he came to realize his concussion issue, his regret over not giving more support to Junior Seau, dealing with racism and more.
9. “MLB Draft Live Blog” (RipsIt Blog)This weekend’s MLB draft featured a number of Trojan baseball players. Jordan Moore has the full rundown.
10. “Former Trojans team up to take American football to China” (USC.edu)Chris Barrett and Joseph Krassenstein started an athletics program in China to teach children American football and the English language. The likes of Will Poole, Kevin Thomas and Mike Williams will serve as coaches for the camp.

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