Who will be USC football’s offensive MVP in 2019?

The 2019 USC football team is stockpiled with talent on offense, particularly at wide receiver. But which Trojan will end up as the team’s offensive MVP?

Few teams throughout college football has as much offensive talent as the USC football program. Several five-star recruits are littered throughout the roster, creating a litany of candidates for the Trojans’ most valuable playmaker.

Who will rise to the top of the list in 2019? The Reign of Troy staff has chimed in with some MVP predictions going into the season…

Alicia de Artola: Michael Pittman

If USC’s offensive MVP is JT Daniels, then it’ll be happy days for Trojan fans given what it would mean for the offense. But more realistically, the MVP will be wide receiver Michael Pittman.

Amon-Ra St. Brown will catch more passes, but Pittman will make bigger plays. The kind that stick in the memory. Expect him to grow his 758 yards of production from last year to well over 1,000.

As a senior leader on the offense, Pittman will be the one urging the Trojans on, not just on the field, but in the locker room and on the practice field. His presence will be critical to any success USC achieves in 2019.

Michael Castillo: JT Daniels

USC has too many wide receivers for one to be an MVP. Not only will they split catches, but if Michael Pittman or Amon-Ra St. Brown go down with an injury, the Trojans are way more suited to replace their production than any other position unit on the team.

But while you could make a strong case for irreplaceable left tackle Austin Jackson to be the MVP, quarterback JT Daniels is the reasonable odds-on favorite.

He’s not only the best signal caller suited for leading the offense to their maximum potential —given Matt Fink’s limitations and Kedon Slovis’s inexperience— but he’s bound to be the benefactor of everyone around him.

If all goes right, the arsenal of weapons at his disposal, plus a scheme predicated on making life simpler for the quarterback, could make a star out of Daniels. It’s just a matter of that all coming together.

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Trent Goodrich: Amon-Ra St. Brown

As a true freshman, Amon-Ra St. Brown led the receivers with 60 receptions for 750 yards and three touchdowns. JT Daniels is once again the Trojan’s starting quarterback, and the connection the Mater Dei products share is unmatched.

St. Brown is a prototypical receiver for the Air Raid, because he consistently displays the ability to exploit soft spots in zones and specializes in running to space. He is a technician as a route runner and will catch even more passes in 2019, because defenses will not be able to key on him.

His biggest obstacles to being the Trojan offensive MVP is Daniels blossoming as a quarterback —thus making him the MVP— and getting into the end zone. St. Brown won’t be the Trojans first option near the goal line, so he has to score in other ways.

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Alex Polk: JT Daniels

The offensive is MVP is set up to be only one of three people: JT Daniels, Michael Pittman Jr. or Amon-Ra St. Brown. But it’s JT’s to lose. He and center Brett Neilon are going to be the only two who touch the ball every down. And quite honestly, if it is not JT Daniels, then something has gone wrong.

You could make the argument for St. Brown, especially because he’s Daniels favorite target, will most likely work out of the slot and will see a lot of touches. But Pittman Jr. is going to get his fair share of targets as well, and is just as dynamic.

In the end, it should be Daniels. And if we’re to believe the talk coming out of fall camp, he should put up some big numbers this season.