The 2021 USC Trojans football team represents the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in the

2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The r ...

. They play their home games at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

and compete as members of the South Division of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

. They were led by sixth-year head coach

Clay Helton Clay Charles Helton (born June 24, 1972) is an American college football coach and former player, who is currently the head coach at Georgia Southern. He was previously the head coach of USC from 2015 to 2021. Helton has also been an assistan ...

in the first two games; Helton was fired on September 13 following the team's 28–42 loss to

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. Associate head coach

Donte Williams Donte Antonio Williams (born September 1, 1982) is an American football coach who is the defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator at the University of Southern California (USC). He previously served as USC's associate head coac ...

took over as the team's interim head coach. The Trojans finished the 2021 season at 4–8. It was their worst record since

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, when they went 3–8.

Previous season

The Trojans finished 5–1 in 2020 season. They represented the South Division in the

Pac-12 Championship Game The Pac-12 Football Championship Game is an annual college football game held by the Pac-12 Conference to determine the season's conference champion. The game from the 2011–2021 seasons had the champion of the North Division against the champi ...

where

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

become Pac-12 Champions (24–31).

Offseason

Transfers

The Trojans lost nine players via transfer. The Trojans add nine players and one walk-on player via transfer.

Returning Starters

USC returns 26 starters in 2021 including 11 on offense, 12 on defense, and 3 on special teams. Key departures include

Amon-Ra St. Brown Amon-Ra Julian Heru J. St. Brown (born October 24, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC and was drafted by the Lions in the fourth round of ...

( WR – 6 games),

Tyler Vaughns Tyler Vaughns (born June 1, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the Arlington Renegades of the XFL. He played college football at USC. Early years Vaughns attended Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, California. He played wide re ...

( WR – 5 games), Alijah Vera-Tucker ( OL – 6 games),

Marlon Tuipulotu Marlon Tuipulotu (born May 31, 1999) is an American football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC. Early years Tuipulotu attended Central High School in Indepen ...

( DT – 6 games), Olaijah Griffin ( CB – 5 games), and

Talanoa Hufanga Talanoa Hufanga (born February 1, 2000) is an American football safety for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC. Early years Hufanga attended Crescent Valley High School in Corvall ...

( S – 6 games).

Offense (11)

Defense (12)

Special teams (3)

2021 NFL Draft

The official list of participants for the 2021 Senior Bowl included USC football player Marlon Tuipulotu (DT). The official list of participants for the 2021 NFL Combine included USC football players to be announced soon.

Team players drafted into the NFL

Recruiting class

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Depth Chart

* Depth Chart after Week 9 vs. Arizona Wildcats ''True Freshman''

Injury report

Scholarship distribution chart

/ / * Former Walk-on – 85 scholarships permitted, 95 currently allotted to players via extra Seniors. – 95 recruited players on scholarship Scholarship Distribution 2021

Schedule

Spring Game

2021 Cardinal vs Gold Spring Game

Regular season

Game summaries

San José State

Stanford

at Washington State

Oregon State

at Colorado

Utah

at No. 13 Notre Dame

Arizona

at Arizona State

UCLA

No. 13 BYU

at California

Rankings

Statistics

USC vs Opponents USC vs Pac-12 opponents

Offense

Defense

Key: POS: Position, SOLO: Solo Tackles, AST: Assisted Tackles, TOT: Total Tackles, TFL: Tackles-for-loss, SACK: Quarterback Sacks, INT: Interceptions, BU: Passes Broken Up, PD: Passes Defended, QBH: Quarterback Hits, FR: Fumbles Recovered, FF: Forced Fumbles, BLK: Kicks or Punts Blocked, SAF: Safeties, TD : Touchdown

Special teams

After the Season

Final statistics

Awards and honors

Conference

National

All-Americans

Bowl games

All Star games

NFL Draft

The

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

will be held at

Allegiant Stadium Allegiant Stadium is a domed stadium located in Paradise, Nevada. It is the home stadium for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Rebels college football team, the Las Ve ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...

on April 28–30, 2022. Trojans who attended the 2022 NFL Draft:

CFL Global Draft

The 2022 CFL Global Draft will be held in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

on May 3, 2022. Trojans who attended the 2022 CFL Global Draft:

NFL Draft combine

Five members of the 2021 team were invited to participate in drills at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. † Top performer DNP = Did not participate

NFL Pro Day

Sixteen members of the 2021 team were invited to participate in drills at the NFL Pro Day 2022. † Top performer DNP = Did not participate

Notes

* August 19, 2020 – USC DT Jay Tufele declares for 2021 NFL Draft. * November 30, 2020 – Kyron Ware-Hudson flips from Oregon to USC football recruiting class for 2021. * December 1, 2020 – USC football kicker Chase McGrath enters transfer portal. * December 3, 2020 – Top USC football commit Jake Garcia decommits from the Trojans. * December 7, 2020 – USC football loses linebacker Palaie Gaoteote to transfer portal. * December 11, 2020 – USC football adds Alabama DT Ishmael Sopsher via transfer. * December 16, 2020 – USC Football Announces Early Signing Period 2021 Class. * December 19, 2020 – USC Football Opts Out Of Playing In A Bowl. * December 25, 2020 – USC football adds Xavion Alford as transfer from Texas. * December 28, 2020 – USC football's Alijah Vera-Tucker declares for NFL Draft. * December 28, 2020 – Markese Stepp enters transfer portal intending to leave USC football. * December 30, 2020 – Talanoa Hufanga declares for NFL Draft after All-American season for USC football. * December 31, 2020 – USC Cornerbacks Coach Donte Williams Adds Associate Head Coach Title. * January 1, 2021 – USC defensive lineman Marlon Tuipulotu declares for NFL Draft. * January 2, 2021 – USC receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown enters the 2021 NFL Draft. * January 2, 2021 – Ceyair Wright commits to USC football recruiting class for 2021. * January 2, 2021 – Korey Foreman, Nation's No. 1 Overall Recruit, Signs With USC Football. * January 3, 2021 – Tim Drevno, Aaron Ausmus Will Not Return To USC Football Coaching Staff. * January 4, 2021 – USC football recruiting rolls into 2022 with Fabian Ross commitment. * January 4, 2021 – USC wide receiver Tyler Vaughns declares for NFL Draft. * January 16, 2021 – Robert Stiner Named Director of Football Sports Performance At USC.

Notes

References

{{USC Trojans football navbox

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

USC Trojans football seasons

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 Con ...