The five most important USC football players in 2024

The USC football is coming off a disappointing 2023 season in which the team finished with a 7-5 regular season record. Not even a Holiday Bowl win over Louisville was enough to shake the stench of a letdown year. What's worse is Lincoln Riley lost his best player in the NFL Draft.

USC heads into 2024 with a new starting quarterback and overhauled defense.

The Trojans' offense was not the problem in 2023. Led by Caleb Williams, USC finished inside college football's top 15 offenses in total yards (6,066), average yards-per-game (466.6), and points (544). Such numbers are as good as any program competing for the College Football Playoff. However, USC football was plagued by a defense ranked among the sport's worst units.

Only eight programs surrendered more points than USC (419) last season. In contrast, the nation's top defense (Michigan) gave up 123 points on their way to a national championship. USC's defense was also in the bottom 12 units regarding total yards allowed (5,266) and yards allowed per game (438.8). Indeed, an embarrassing performance that cost defensive coordinator Alex Grinch his job.

USC's 2024 roster features several new and returning faces. Among them, we have selected the five players most critical to the Trojans' first season as Big Ten members.

Click next to read about the first players on our list.