Safety Christian Pierce returning to USC for senior season
The USC secondary will return a significant piece in 2026 as Christian Pierce will be back in cardinal and gold with the Trojans, the program announced on Sunday.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound safety took on a huge role for the USC defense in 2025 as expected safety Kamari Ramsey moved to nickel for much of the year, pushing Pierce into a consistent starting role.
Pierce logged eight starts and played at least 20 defensive snaps in every game, finishing No. 5 on the USC defense with 552 snaps. He finished third on the team with 58 tackles, tied for third with three pass deflections and had a key fumble recovery in the endzone against Illinois. Pierce also had two tackles for loss and a sack in his tackle total.
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In addition to his increased defensive responsibilities in 2025, Pierce remained a key special teams contributor. He saw the second-most snaps on special teams for the Trojans this season, participating on kick return, kickoff coverage, punt return, punt coverage and field goal block teams.
Ramsey has still not given official word as to whether he will return to USC in 2026 or enter the NFL Draft, though he is expected to declare. Keeping Pierce on the roster will be just one of a number of moves the Trojans make this offseason when it comes to both retaining and adding talent. But it will be an impactful one for the 2026 season as Pierce was consistently among USC’s better defensive players and should take another step forward as a senior next year.
