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Chasen Johnson injury update: USC cornerback out for the season

Erik-McKinneyby: Erik McKinney13 hours agoErikTMcKinney
USC cornerback Chasen Johnson
USC cornerback Chasen Johnson (Erik McKinney/WeAreSC)

The USC defensive backfield received another dose of bad injury news on Tuesday as head coach Lincoln Riley said cornerback Chasen Johnson suffered a knee injury and will miss the rest of the season.

”Chasen has an injury,” Riley said. “He’ll end up missing the rest of the year. Really disappointed for that.”

Johnson came to USC from UCF via the transfer portal this offseason. He seemed to be in line to challenge for a starting cornerback spot right away but an injury kept him sidelined for much of fall camp. He was healthy enough to see limited snaps two weeks ago in the win against Georgia Southern and was on the field in a reserve role again at Purdue. He took 13 snaps against Georgia Southern and upped that to 21 against the Boilermakers as he looked to be on his way to earning more and more time.

This sidelines a third defensive back who was likely to play significant minutes for the Trojans this season. Potential starting nickelbacks Prophet Brown and True freshman Alex Graham both went down during fall camp. Riley said at the time those are not expected to be season-ending, though Brown’s was expected to keep him out at least half the year.

USC has started four different cornerbacks through three games. Veteran DeCarlos Nicholson has started all three. The Trojans went with DJ Harvey in Game 1, Braylon Conley in Game 2 and Marcelles Williams in Game 3. That’s a position where clear starters never really emerged during spring or fall camp. Riley did say just before the season that Nicholson had played his way into a spot where he would play a lot. The Trojans are still looking for a consistent starter opposite him.

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Garry Paskwietz (1966-2019)

Garry Paskwietz was a pioneer in bringing team-specific sports coverage to the internet. He founded WeAreSC in 1998 and was an Emmy winner for his work with Fox Sports West. Always generous with his time, knowledge, and compassion, he touched the lives of countless USC and high school football fans.

Garry Paskwietz