USC football has a number of important players coming back for this season, and that’s undeniably good. Jayden Maiava and the offensive line returning for 2026 will give the Trojans a chance to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Yet, beyond those positions, one has to ask: Is it good that the Trojans return a large percentage of snaps from 2025? CBS Sports has the data.
USC is 10th in the nation and first in the Big Ten with 56 percent of its snap counts returning from 2025. Again, on offense, this is a really good thing, since the Trojans had a good offense last season and should benefit from continuity on the roster in 2026, particularly along the offensive line. However, on defense, it could be a different story. This was not a lockdown defense in 2025. It’s true that it was young, something former defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn alluded to, but it remains that the pieces never fully fit on this defense last season. The unit didn’t fully come together. How much of a benefit is it that USC has a reasonable percentage of snaps coming back on that side of the ball? Defensive coordinator Gary Patterson has to look at film and see which returning players are ready to take the next step and which ones frankly aren’t as advanced as they could or should be.
Patterson and the defensive staff will need to be very sharp and accurate in making the distinction between a good returning player and a deficient one. When a unit or position group doesn’t do well in a given season, it’s not automatic that a “returning starter” from that unit or group is a good thing. That will be something to watch with USC this coming season.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football returning snap counts can be viewed in multiple ways