Currently overlooked USC freshman is turning heads in camp

With a USC wide receiving room that already has Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane, at first, it may appear that there is not too much room to discuss a current true freshman as a potential breakout star for the 2025 season.

While the current battle on the depth chart is for the WR3 position, Tanook Hines is someone who is looking to make coach Lincoln Riley's final decision as difficult as possible.

As shared by USC Trojans on SI's Kendell Hollowell, Lake McRee mentioned earlier that the first-year receiver out of Texas is already impressing and has "made really good plays that you normally don't see a freshman making."

Hines certainly has the quickness and route running of someone to line up alongside Lane and Lemon, who can then exploit one of the third or fourth options of the other team's secondary unit.

To already be creating such an impression that others are expecting Hines to be able to see significant snaps with one of the top WR duos in the nation speaks volumes for his ability.

It also shows how well the Trojans have been at recruiting. When also looking at the incoming wideouts who are part of the 2026 and 2027 classes, it becomes fairly clear that USC will be more than set in the WR room for a long time to come.

Anticipation for young USC WR to begin

For now, Trojan fans will eagerly await to see how Hines' career in Troy begins. Especially early on, if the games go as anticipated and USC takes care of business early, it could potentially afford the opportunity for the Trojan faithful to see even more of Hines early on during actual games for USC.

There is a lot of potential for the freshman, and so far, he is making a great case for himself early on in camp.