Just one USC Trojan among On3's Top 100 CFB players for 2024
USC fans will have an opportunity to see a number of players who landed on On3’s list of the top 100 college football players for the 2024 season. The list was compiled by On3’s Clark Brooks. Unfortunately, just one of those will be wearing cardinal and gold this season.
Here’s a look at the notable names to make the list for USC fans this year.
USC’s lone selection
No. 79 – Bear Alexander
Defensive tackle Bear Alexander checks in at No. 79 overall and the No. 8 interior defensive lineman on the list. The 6-foot-3, 313-pound Alexander finished the 2023 season with 48 tackles, including 6.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. He led the Trojans with four quarterback hurries and also tallied two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one pass deflection. Alexander was named All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention last year and will be viewed as the leader of the USC defensive line in 2024.
Opponents in the Top 100
No. 5 – OT Will Campbell – LSU Tigers
Brooks: “At 6’6, 325, Will Campbell is college football’s most well-rounded offensive lineman. It says a lot about a player when he can pull scouts’ attention away from their assigned target when charting. That happened plenty this last draft cycle when folks were impressed by the Bayou Bengals’ left tackle while scouting Jayden Daniels.”
No. 6 – DL Mason Graham – Michigan Wolverines
Brooks: “Michigan’s big, mean, tough, nasty, pocket collapser headlines a very talented crop of defensive interiors. While winning over a quarter of his true pass rushes last year, Mason Graham’s 13% Impact Play Rate cracks the position’s top five ahead of this fall.”
No. 8 – CB Will Johnson – Michigan Wolverines
Brooks: “With great size and length, Will Johnson tallied 7 picks and held opposing QBs to a stingy 48.5 rating over the last two years being a key player for one of the nation’s best teams. He’s largely expected to keep the good times rolling in Ann Arbor as one of the nation’s marquee coverage men.”
No. 15 – CB Benjamin Morrison – Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Brooks: “Benjamin Morrison hawked a pass on nearly 22% of his opportunities last fall while allowing a catch on less than half of his targets. Plus, none of the Golden Domer’s 8 key defensive metrics fell under the national average.”
No 17 – LB Harold Perkins – LSU Tigers
Brooks: “While the debate will rage on the proper way to utilize Harold Perkins’ talents, there’s no denying his motor, zeal or tenacity in the box. His havoc rate as an underclassman is just under 6% (a mark no college LB topped last fall). Additionally, he’s becoming one of the position’s top options in coverage.”
No. 19 – EDGE Abdul Carter – Penn State Nittany Lions
Brooks: “Abdul Carter, the college linebacker with the position’s top havoc rate last year, will now get to focus on dismantling fronts full-time in 2024. Hinting the best is yet to come operating as an edge, half of his pass production came over his last four games.”
No. 21 – DL Howard Cross – Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Brooks: “A top-notch three-technique built to clash with guards. Howard Cross III is the lone returning college interior who placed inside the nation’s top 10 in both impact plays by volume and by rate.”
No. 25 – DL Kenneth Grant – Michigan Wolverines
Brooks: “It was impossible to watch last year’s postseason and not notice Kenneth Grant’s destructive style. He secured a pressure on nearly 21% of his rushes over his last 3 games including a pair of sacks in the CFP.”
No. 27 – TE Colston Loveland – Michigan Wolverines
Brooks: “While being the position’s most productive returner, no Core 4 TE can challenge Colston Loveland’s efficient 2.4 Yards/Route Run.”
No. 61 – QB Riley Leonard – Notre Dame
No. 62 – RB Donovan Edwards – Michigan
No. 63 – OL Emery Jones – LSU
No. 71 – S Xavier Watts – Notre Dame
No. 75 – S Rod Moore – Michigan
No. 77 – TE Mitchell Evans – Notre Dame
No. 78 – OL Tyler Cooper – Minnesota
No. 82 – QB Garrett Nussmeier – LSU
No. 90 – WR CJ Daniels – LSU
No. 96 – EDGE Josaiah Stewart – Michigan
No. 98 – OT Hollin Pierce – Rutgers
Final count for Trojans’ opponents
Michigan – 7 players
LSU – 5 players
Notre Dame – 5 players
Penn State – 1 player
Minnesota – 1 player
Rutgers – 1 player
