The 2021 USC Trojans football team represented 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 ...

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 ...

. They played their home games at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...

and competed as members of the South Division of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. 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 Eagles football, Georgia Southern. He was previously the head coach of USC Trojans football, US ...

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

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. Associate head coach Donte Williams 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 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, when they went 3–8.

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 John St. Brown (born October 24, 1999) is a German-American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans fo ...

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

Marlon Tuipulotu Marlon Tuipulotu (born May 31, 1999) is an American professional American football, football defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans football, USC Trojans a ...

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

Conference opponents not played this season:

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

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 NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

will be held at

Allegiant Stadium Allegiant Stadium is a domed multi-purpose stadium located in Paradise, Nevada, southwest of adjacent Las Vegas. Opened in 2020, it is the home field of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of Nevada ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, 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 ...

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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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 may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

USC Trojans football seasons

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...