USC football takeaways: Meet Trojans 'Captain America' savior

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USC wrapped fall camp this week, with all eyes now on its early season opener Aug. 26 against San Jose State.

Here’s what you need to know from the final days of camp:

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Captain America to the rescue

USC linebacker Tackett Curtis runs on the field during a spring football practice

As USC’s linebackers cycled through tackling drills at the start of Wednesday’s practice, Eric Gentry walked the sideline like a tightrope, biding his time. The inside linebacker had been limited since the start of camp while dealing with the same ankle injury that hampered him last season.

His limited participation in camp, along with the injury absence of Shane Lee at the same position, might have inspired panic at this same point last year.

But that’s where Captain America swoops in.

“Captain America” is Tackett Curtis, the Trojans’ hyped freshman linebacker whose arrival at USC already has folks equating him with the first Avenger. No other freshman has quite generated Marvel-caliber buzz during camp.

“Tackett Curtis, oh my goodness,” said running back MarShawn Lloyd. “Tackett is amazing.”

“If I had to call him something, he’s a destroyer,” added Caleb Williams.

“I’ve been around a lot of freshmen the past couple years,” rush end Jamil Muhammad said, “and they don’t come quite like him.”

That doesn’t mean Curtis is a finished product just yet. He’s still learning the scheme, still sharpening his technique. But there’s been no hesitation on his part as he’s been thrown into the mix at inside linebacker.

That position is deeper than it used to be. But if Gentry and Lee aren’t ready to go by next Saturday, Captain America may be thrust into action right away.

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From running back to receiver

Raleek Brown holds out his hand and raises a knee while holding the ball.

Raleek Brown played all of one snap in the slot for USC last season. So it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that his full-time switch to slot receiver has endured a few rough patches this fall.

“When you make a position change, no matter how talented you are — Raleek’s obviously a very talented player — there’s gonna be a transition period,” coach Lincoln Riley said. “This is not just go out there and run a route or two, right, and this is not just go out there and learn to block this one thing. Like, there’s a lot more to it.”

It’s hard to say where Brown stands in that transition process. He was still technically a running back in the spring, when coaches started experimenting with him on the perimeter. He’s now listed as a full-time receiver. But how coaches will use him is still anyone’s guess. Brown said during camp that he’s still expecting to take some handoffs as a running back, too.

As a receiver, it may take time to find his footing. The question is whether he’ll do it quickly enough to make the sort of mark he was expected to make this season.

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Malachi Nelson improves

USC quarterback Malachi Nelson carries his pads and walks out to spring football practice

When Malachi Nelson joined USC in the spring, the first glimpses we got of USC’s five-star heir apparent at quarterback suggested it might be some time before he was ready to take the reins.

But his progress this preseason has been “much, much better,” Riley said.

Part of that is a clean bill of health. Riley estimated Nelson was operating at about 50% of his physical capabilities in the spring as he recovered from shoulder surgery.

“We’re glad that he went through it. He’s glad that he went through it,” Riley said. “It’s certainly made him better.”

It’s unlikely that Nelson unseats Miller Moss as the Trojans’ No. 2 quarterback. But Nelson’s progress sets up what should be a serious competition next spring to replace Williams. Though, given Riley’s propensity for dipping into the portal, it’s possible Williams’ replacement next season isn’t even on the roster yet.

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Receiver under the radar

In a class that included three of the top pass-catching prospects in the country, Ja’Kobi Lane arrived at USC entirely under the radar. But that’s no longer the case after camp.

Early reviews indicate the 6-foot-4 freshman made quite a first impression. Coaches and teammates have said he’s faster than expected. Receivers coach Dennis Simmons called his ball skills “elite.”

“Being that tall and how athletic he is, the way he’s able to break down a curl so low, that’s not normal,” fellow receiver Kyron Hudson said. “Seeing that in his game, he’s one of those receivers, where if the QB throws the ball up, he’s definitely catching it every time.”

How many balls might actually be thrown to Lane this season remains to be seen. USC has a cavernously deep receiver room. Not to mention three other highly touted freshman receivers in Zachariah Branch, Duce Robinson and Makai Lemon. But the strong start hasn’t gone unnoticed.

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O-line is (probably) set (for now)

USC offensive lineman Jonah Monheim blocks a defender while Caleb Williams looks to pass the ball

There’s still time for tinkering and some questions at right tackle, but USC appears to have settled into a starting five up front.

Jonah Monheim has been locked in at left tackle, while Justin Dedich and Jarrett Kingston have stayed in their spots at center and right guard since spring. Left guard was the glaring question coming into camp, but Emmanuel Pregnon has stuck at that spot since last week, while Gino Quinones has shifted to taking reps as the second-team center.

USC offensive line coach Josh Henson said Wednesday that the right tackle position is still up in the air between Michael Tarquin and Mason Murphy. But if the rest of camp has been any indication, the spot is still Tarquin’s to lose.

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Foreman falling?

USC defensive lineman Korey Foreman walks on the field during spring football practice.

When USC defensive line coach Shaun Nua was asked at the start of camp about Korey Foreman, Nua struck an optimistic note about the frustrating former five-star recruit. He said that Foreman had come a long way from the previous year, when he struggled just to string two consecutive practices together.

By the end of camp, Foreman was sidelined again, limited through a critical stretch of camp with what appears to be a shoulder injury. It’s just the latest setback for Foreman, who now faces stiff competition to keep his place in a suddenly deep defensive line rotation.