Makai Lemon, Jide Abasiri, and Devan Thompkins named weekly USC Core Values Players

There is a nice tradition from the USC football team that includes recognizing the efforts of those players that are truly putting in the work to help the Trojans achieve their goals. Everybody wants to win, and programs that don't win it all would have liked to have won more.

Achieving that is something that can only be possible in the everyday approach. Putting yourself as an athlete in a position to best help the team starts during the offseason. The work put in well before kickoff is ultimately what decides how a team will be able to compete during the season itself. Even then, an effort may still come up short. Doing everything possible to at least be competitive and ready to face adversity as it comes is the only way forward and the only aspect that lies within the control of a student-athlete.

Shared on the USC football team media page, Makai Lemon, Jide Abasiri, and Devan Thompkins have been selected for the distinction of the Trojan Core Values Players of the Week. The post mentions that it is not exactly an award or celebration or anything of that nature. Instead, it is more of an acknowledgment of the efforts that those three are continuing to give of themselves and for the program.

Needed mentality at USC

In general, there is a more buttoned-up and professional approach throughout the program now. This is a USC team that knows what is possible and what it can look like when things are really starting to roll in Los Angeles for the Cardinal and Gold. 

By the same token, they know that their place as an annual contender in college football has to be earned on a yearly basis. By consequence, when subdivided further, how everyone, from the administration to the incoming freshmen, approaches each day is what will ultimately dictate success at USC.