This past week, USC officially re-signed offensive lineman Alani Noa. Noa is just one of numerous offensive linemen to be returning to the Trojans for the 2026 season.
In fact, USC is bringing back its entire starting offensive line for next season. Elijah Paige and Justin Tauanuu return at tackle, Noa and Tobias Raymond at guard, and Kilian O’Connor at center.
Further, all five players have played together and been in head coach Lincoln Riley’s system for multiple years. Tauanuu will be entering his third season with the Trojans, while the other four are going into either their fourth or fifth.
This is massive for the Trojans. In today’s era of the transfer portal and mass roster movement in college football, offensive line is the position where continuity matters perhaps more than any other.
We saw this firsthand at USC back in 2022. That year, the Trojans had perhaps their best offensive line of the past decade. The unit was led by three players who had been with the Trojans for five or even six years: Andrew Vorhees, Brett Neilon, and Justin Dedich.
Following the departures of Vorhees and Neilon in 2023, USC attempted to replace them with transfers. The result was rather disappointing, as the offensive line regressed significantly from the year prior.
In 2026, USC will once again have a veteran offensive line of upperclassmen who have played together for multiple years. That is great news for the Trojans, who could be entering a make-or-break season for head coach Lincoln Riley.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC returning its entire starting offensive line for 2026 is massive
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire | USA TODAY Network
