USC Football: Post-Spring 2-Deep Depth Chart

The USC Trojans have finally overcome an injury-filled spring and will have a few months before they hit the field again for fall workouts and the regular season. The Trojans for the most part already know who their starters are going to be, considering they return majority of last year's team. But there are some younger players who may have climbed up the depth chart the last few weeks.

With spring practice all wrapped up for the Trojans, here is how the depth chart should look heading into the fall.

Quarterback

Starter: Matt Barkley

Backup: Cody Kessler

Did you really expect somebody else to be the starting quarterback for the Trojans? Barkley is arguably the best quarterback in all of college football, so don't expect a quarterback battle on this team. At least not yet.

Running Back

Starter: Curtis McNeal

Backup: D.J. Morgan

McNeal rushed for over 1,000 yards last season, but he may be ready for an even bigger season, as he's by far the most experienced back on a team with little to no depth at the position. He had a great spring and is one of the few bright spots at the position.

Fullback

Starter: Soma Vainuku

Backup: Hunter Simmons

Soma Vainuku is only a redshirt freshman, but you couldn't tell watching him this spring. He had great practices, and he made a nice touchdown catch in the spring game. In fact, he finished the game with four catches for 66 yards.

A 255-pound player who has hands? That's just not fair at all.

Wide Receiver

Starter: Robert Woods

Backup: De'Von Flournoy

Woods didn't participate much in the spring due to an injury, but it's nothing that will keep him out of the regular season. He's much like Barkley, as he is guaranteed a starting spot due to a combination of experience, production and a great deal of talent. 

Wide Receiver

Starter: Marqise Lee

Backup: George Farmer

For the type of freshman season Lee had last year, he automatically deserves to be the starter this season. Lee racked up 70 catches for over 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. Imagine what he'll be able to do now that he has some experience under his belt.

Tight End

Starter: Xavier Grimble

Backup: Randall Telfer

Grimble is another freshman who had a productive season, finishing with 15 receptions, and four of those were for touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 73 yards in the spring game and looks more and more like another weapon for this high-scoring offense.

Left Tackle

Starter: Aundrey Walker

Backup: Nathan Guertler

Walker played in all 11 games last season, but he spent the majority of his time at right tackle and on special teams. Now it appears that the sophomore will have the huge task of protecting Barkley's blindside.

"I love the left better than the right, actually, to be honest," Walker said via ESPN "I just feel more comfortable over there."

Left Guard

Starter: Marcus Martin

Backup: Cyrus Hobbi

Martin started 10 games at left guard for the Trojans as a true freshman and did a fantastic job. You figure with a year under his belt and such a solid season last year, he'll stay in his role at left guard.

Center

Starter: Khaled Holmes

Backup: Abe Markowitz

Holmes will start on the offensive line for the third season in a row and his second at center. He played extremely well last year after shifting from guard and has quickly become a Rimington Award candidate.

Right Guard

Starter: John Martinez

Backup: Jeremy Galten

Martinez is a versatile player who can play guard or the center position. Expect to see him at right guard, the position he played well all of last year as a redshirt sophomore. 

Right Tackle

Starter: Kevin Graf

Backup: David Garness

Graf was competing for the left tackle position, but it appears that the coaches like him better at right tackle as of right now. This is the same position he started the entire year at last season.

"I started getting more comfortable at right tackle, and when you start getting more comfortable you start playing better, and that's what happened," Graf said via ESPN.

Defensive End

Starter: Wes Horton

Backup: Kevin Greene

Horton has seen time off and on for the last three seasons, but he will finally get the opportunity to start this year. He's a real tough player and can make plays from sideline to sideline. He finished last season with 22 tackles and four sacks in limited action.

Nose Tackle

Starter: Antwaun Woods

Backup: Cody Temple

Woods is a very strong player who will simply clog up the running lanes. He's a redshirt freshman who spent majority of the time losing weight and getting into better shape to start this year. He's a former 4-Star recruit out of Woodland Hills, CA.

Defensive Tackle

Starter: George Uko

Backup: J.R. Tavai

Uko saw limited action in his redshirt freshman season and finished with 18 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He's made huge strides in the spring and has gained the respect of head coach Lane Kiffin.

"He's the perfect three-technique tackle," head coach Lane Kiffin said. "He's big and powerful. The sky is the limit for him."

Defensive End

Starter: Devon Kennard

Backup: Greg Townsend

Kennard only started five games last season, but he made the most of his time, as he finished with 29 tackles, four tackles for a loss and two sacks. Kennard is a player with an extremely high motor, and he specializes in getting to the quarterback. He has experience at the linebacker position as well.

Linebacker

Starter: Dion Bailey

Backup: Marquis Simmons

Bailey led the team in tackles last season as a freshman with 81 and added a couple sacks and interceptions for good measure. I think it's pretty safe to assume he'll end up in the same role he had last season.

Linebacker

Starter: Hayes Pullard

Backup: Anthony Sarao

The same thing we said for Baily pretty much goes for Pullard as well. As a freshman last year, Pullard finished second on the team in tackles with 81 and had 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Are you really going to take that kind of production off the field?

Linebacker

Starter: Lamar Dawson

Backup: Will Andrew

As a freshman last year, Dawson finished with 25 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. This year, he'll be a starting linebacker, as he's shown tremendous progress throughout spring and is quickly becoming a leader on this young defense.

Cornerback

Starter: Nickell Robey

Backup: Anthony Brown

Robey may be the most valuable player on this defense, as he can really do it all. He was fourth in tackling last year with 63, intercepted a couple of passes, picked up a few sacks, was a shutdown corner that batted down nine passes and even returned punts. The junior corner will remain at his starting position.

Cornerback

Starter: Isiah Wiley

Backup: Josh Shaw

In Wiley's first year at USC, he started six games and played on special teams as well. He finished ninth on the team in tackles and broke up four passes. Now, with a year under his belt, he's more confident and more comfortable in the system.

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"Isiah is really aggressive, so that plays to his strengths. I feel like he's really feeling that. He has a lot of confidence in himself right now, and if he can just keep that up, the sky's the limit for him." said Nickell Robey.

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Strong Safety

Starter: Jawanza Starling

Backup: Josh Shaw

Jawanza Starling had started the last two seasons at strong safety, so it's only right to assume he'll be here again in his junior season. He's a very solid player in the backfield, but things will get interesting this fall with Josh Shaw just becoming eligible to play right away for USC.

Free Safety

Starter: T.J. McDonald

Backup: Gerald Bowman

McDonald will close out the secondary, which consists of nothing but upperclassman. The senior has over 150 career tackles and is an early Thorpe Award candidate. The hard-hitting free safety will remain in his starting role and will be a key player on the defensive side of the ball.