Jamaal Jarrett injury update: Lincoln Riley reveals season-ending diagnosis for USC DT

The USC Trojans are going to have their depth tested along the defensive line. On Wednesday, head coach Lincoln Riley announced that defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett needed to have season-ending surgery in an injury update.

“Yeah, Jamaal ended up having to have a season-ending surgery,” Riley said. “So, he’ll miss the rest of the year for us.”

Jarrett hasn’t played for USC since the loss to Illinois in September. USC tends to be close to the vest in regards to the exact nature of injuries. That’s the case with Jarrett here. Regardless, it’s clearly bad enough that rehabbing wasn’t going to get him back on the field, forcing the surgery.

A redshirt sophomore, Jarrett has been a rotational piece this season for the Trojans. In five games, he had three tackles, including 0.5 tackles for a loss. However, he did also provide one of the best defensive plays of the season for USC. His interception returned for a touchdown went 70 yards back for what’s often called a “Thick six.” That was in the Purdue game and, arguably, put the game out of reach. For the most part, though, Jarrett has been used against the run.

A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, he was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2023. The 183rd-ranked prospect overall and the 21st-ranked defensive lineman in that recruiting cycle, he initially attended Georgia. There, he spent the first two seasons of his career, including a year in which he redshirted but still played in five total games for the Bulldogs. It wasn’t until ahead of the 2025 season that he transferred to USC.

On a more positive note, Riley shared that freshman defensive tackle Floyd Boucard was back in full pads at practice on Tuesday. He had initially suffered a knee injury in the Michigan game.

Lincoln Riley has seen his defense allow 355.1 yards per game this season, which is good for 56th nationally in total defense. USC is also giving up 22.4 points per game, which is 52nd nationally in scoring defense. Both of those marks are improvements from where the Trojans finished a season ago, as Riley and USC have been fighting to bounce back from what was a difficult season in 2024.

USC now sits at 6-2 on the season and 4-1 in Big Ten play. That includes a bounce-back win last Saturday following their loss to Notre Dame. It was also good enough to put USC at No. 19 in the initial College Football Playoff selection committee rankings. So, while USC doesn’t have an inside track on the Playoff, there is still a path to get there.