When he arrived as a walk-on center in the fall of 2022, Kilian O’Connor came in with every intention of fighting for a spot on USC’s offensive line.
For the O’Connor family, there was a certain pride in being a walk-on. His father and grandfather were walk-ons. It didn’t matter that he was buried on the depth chart, or that the odds were stacked against him. It was his duty to stay ready.
“I came here to be a player,” O’Connor said. “I didn’t come here just to be a bag holder.”
Now this season, he’ll play a much more essential role for the Trojans as their newly minted starting center.
O’Connor was officially named the starter Tuesday after a preseason camp in which he unexpectedly outplayed transfer center J’Onre Reed. He’ll be joined up front on USC’s starting offensive line by Elijah Paige at left tackle, Tobias Raymond at left guard, Alani Noa at right guard and Justin Tauanuu at right tackle.
Lincoln Riley said that Reed would still “factor in” on USC’s offensive line this season, but noted that O’Connor had clearly been the most consistent option through camp.
“That was and has been and continues to be a good battle,” Riley said. “I’m sure it’ll go on all year.”
USC’s offensive line was already dealt a difficult setback earlier this month when presumptive starting guard DJ Wingfield was denied an injunction in his eligibility lawsuit against the NCAA. Losing Wingfield meant finding a new left guard, without many proven options to choose from.
Redshirt sophomore Micah Banuelos pushed for that open guard spot, but ultimately Riley chose to shift Raymond inside to left guard, while Taunauu earned the job on the edge.
“I just think, for us, it’s trying to get the best five on the field,” Riley said. “Fortunately, like I’ve said, we have guys that can play multiple positions, and you feel like you can do that.”
How reliable those five will prove to be is another question entirely. There’s no more unproven unit on the Trojans’ roster. While Paige and Noa started all of last season up front, the Trojans’ other three starting linemen have only started a combined two games.
O’Connor accounted for one of those starts, in the Las Vegas Bowl last December. Less than two months later, Riley surprised O’Connor by announcing to the team that he’d been put on scholarship.
It still seemed unlikely then that he’d unseat Reed, who was brought in specifically to take the job. But even Reed expressed his respect earlier this month for how much O’Connor was pushing him.
“That’s a guy that I don’t mind competing with because he does everything the right way,” Reed said at the time.
That competition came to a close Tuesday, with O’Connor atop the depth chart, his long shot plan from three years earlier having finally come to fruition.
“Just because you start as a walk-on, doesn’t mean you have to finish there,” O’Connor said.. “It’s a seat at the table, at the end of the day. I’m forever grateful for that seat. Now it’s time to eat.”
Fill-in kicker
Caden Chittenden was supposed to step in as the answer to USC’s issues in the kicking game. But the freshman All-American kicker will miss the Trojans’ opener and potentially more time as he recovers from an injury that’s kept him on the shelf through camp.
Riley said he didn’t expect Chittenden’s absence to last much longer into the season. Redshirt freshman Ryon Sayeri will handle field goals, extra points and kickoffs in the meantime.
Where Chittenden kicked 33 field goals last year at Nevada Las Vegas, the second-most in the nation, Sayeri has yet to record a kick at the college level. Still, Riley expressed his full confidence in the Trojans’ fill-in kicker, whom he called “one of the most improved players we’ve had on the entire team through camp.”
Stewart update
Five-star freshman defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart is “50-50” to play against Missouri State, Riley said. The injury is “not gonna be long-term,” the coach clarified. Stewart still had a boot on his right foot as of Tuesday night.