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USC football: 3 second-year players who’ll become stars in 2023

By Connor Muldowney

Jan 2, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; USC Trojans running back Raleek Brown (14) in action during the game between the USC Trojans and the Tulane Green Wave in the 2023 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; USC Trojans running back Raleek Brown (14) in action during the game between the USC Trojans and the Tulane Green Wave in the 2023 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Lincoln Riley’s first year with USC football can be considered a success as he turned around a program that went just 4-8 in 2021 and turned the Trojans into playoff contenders in 2022.

Of course a lot of that success could be attributed to the transfer addition of Caleb Williams who followed his head coach from Oklahoma to the west coast and all he did was win a Heisman Trophy in his first year at his new school.

USC will head into the 2023 season with sky-high expectations and some key players for a potential playoff run will come from the 2022 recruiting class, Riley’s first with the Trojans.

Although modest with just 11 players, USC had a ton of talent in the 2022 class. Here’s which second-year players could become stars in 2023.

It may be a weird choice to pick Raleek Brown here because USC brings Austin Jones back and MarShawn Lloyd is transferring in from South Carolina but USC’s thin class of 11 signees didn’t really leave me many guys to choose from.

Plus, Brown is a really good back and he’s going to get carries regardless of who’s on the roster next season.

As a freshman, the former top-50 prospect finished with 227 yards and three touchdowns on 5.4 yards per carry. He looked like one of the most effective rushers on the team and while he’ll be splitting carries next season, he has true star potential in the backfield.

A trio of Jones, Lloyd, and Brown is going to be absolutely deadly and one of the best in college football.

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