USC football’s 2018 freshmen numbers officially revealed

USC football’s 2018 freshmen had their numbers officially revealed on Wednesday, with a surprising pick for Palaie Gaoteote.

The next generation of USC football stars officially have jersey numbers to make their own.

The Trojans announced the new roster numbers on Wednesday on Twitter, listing all 18 members of the class of 2018 in full uniform.

The six early enrollees in the class have already been rocking their numbers since the spring, but the fall enrollees are now accounted for.

The most surprising of those number reveals? Five-star linebacker Palaie Gaoteote will be wearing No. 1 to start his Trojan career.

There had been talk that the gifted linebacker could be a candidate to inherit the currently-unclaimed No. 55 jersey, but it seems that talk will have to be shelved for the time being. As it stands, the No. 1 is an unusual one for a linebacker. Most recently it had been worn by receivers Joseph Lewis and Darreus Rodgers, as well as cornerback Jack Jones.

Here are all the official roster numbers for the class of 2018:

• No. 1 Palaie Gaoteote, LB
• No. 2 Devon Williams, WR
• No. 4 Olaijah Griffin, CB
• No. 6 Isaac Taylor-Stuart, CB
• No. 8 Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR
• No. 15 Talanoa Hufanga, S*
• No. 17 Chase Williams, CB*
• No. 18 JT Daniels, QB
• No. 26 Kana’i Mauga, LB*
• No. 30 Markese Stepp, RB
• No. 34 Eli’jah Winston, LB
• No. 42 Abdul-Malik McClain, LB
• No. 48 Raymond Scott, LB*
• No. 57 Justin Dedich, C*
• No. 58 Solomon Tuliaupupu, LB
• No. 68 Liam Douglass, OT
• No. 95 Trevor Trout, DT
• No. 96 Caleb Tremblay, DE*

*Spring enrollee

Another interesting development: Cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart is slated to wear No. 6, suggesting a number change for safety Isaiah Pola-Mao when the official team roster is released in a few weeks. Perhaps the redshirt freshman is eyeing the open No. 43 previously worn with distinction by his uncle Troy Polamalu.

He may not be the only one making a jersey change. Offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker had owned the No. 68, but it seems three-star offensive tackle Liam Douglass will take it over in 2018.

Five-star corner Olaijah Griffin will look to keep the No. 4 an important part of USC’s defense after Chris Hawkins left it behind with his graduation this year.

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The same goes for four-star linebacker Abdul-Malik McClain who has adopted an even loftier standard by taking the No. 42 from All-American Uchenna Nwosu.

Four-star linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu has the task of reviving the No. 58, which was most recently worn by longsnapper Damon Johnson, but hasn’t been well represented since J.R. Tavai graduated in 2014.

Several new players have adopted numbers already occupied on the other side of the ball. Four-star wide receiver Devon Williams will wear the No. 2 opposite safety Bubba Bolden while five-star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown will match cornerback Iman Marshall in No. 8.

MORE: Predicting USC’s 2018 Depth Chart

The rest picked up open numbers across the roster. Those include four-star running back Markese Stepp’s No. 30, four-star linebacker Eli’jah Winston’s No. 34 and four-star defensive tackle Trevor Trout’s No. 95, which was vacated by Kenny Bigelow’s medical retirement last fall.

As expected, much-hyped quarterback JT Daniels has kept his No. 18 from Mater Dei.

USC’s fall enrollees will debut in their new jerseys when Fall Camp begins this August.