USC Football: 5 Post-Spring Questions Facing the Trojans

The Trojans will take the next few months off before they prepare for their title run, as the spring is over for them. USC returns a total of 16 starters, and many believe they have the talent and experience (and weak schedule) to win the national championship this season.

The spring practices and spring game helped us get a better feel for this team, but no team leaves with every question answered in just a few weeks. That's why fall camp will take place in August and provide teams with a few more opportunities to figure out their squads.

Here are five questions the USC Trojans are still trying to answer.

How Will the Offensive Line Look?

When you have one of the top offensive linemen leave your team, sometimes you have to shift players around to different positions to help fill in the holes. With USC, Matt Kalil was that player that took his talents to the NFL, and now the Trojans are experimenting along the offensive line.

We know that senior center Khaled Holmes will stay in the middle and Marcus Martin and John Martinez will likely play the guard positions. But the tackles are still up in the air between Kevin Graf and Aundrey Walker. As of right now Graf will play right tackle and Walker will be playing left, but we all know things can change with just one bad practice.

This shakeup will continue throughout the fall.

How Will the Defensive Line Shape Up?

The Trojans were one of the best run-stopping teams in the country a year ago, ranked second in the Pac-12 and 18th in the country. But losing some key defensive linemen in Christian Tupou, Nick Perry and DaJohn Harris makes this unit a question mark heading into the fall.

Sophomores J.R. Tavai and George Uko have had a great spring, but practices and actual games are completely different things. The lack of experience and playing time could have this defensive line experiencing a few hiccups early on.

Running Back Depth

With running back Tre Madden tearing his ACL, the position has become very thin for the Trojans. Besides last year's 1,000-yard rusher Curtis McNeal and sophomore D.J. Morgan, nobody at the running back position has even touched the ball for the Trojans in their career.

Redshirt freshman Javorious Allen has been eager to show what he can do, and the Trojans also have true freshman Nelson Agholor coming in as well. I know the Trojans have one of the top passing teams in the country, but a solid running game will be needed to accomplish the goals they've set out for themselves. 

Who Will Be the Backup QB?

Matt Barkley is without question the starter for the Trojans, but a backup will need to be discovered sometime in fall camp. The two players battling for the position are Cody Kessler and Max Wittek, and it appears they'll continue the battle leading up to the first game of the regular season.

They've both had good spring practices and shaky spring games. Kessler threw an interception and Wittek overthrew many open receivers. 

When you have possibly a future No. 1 overall pick in next year's NFL draft leading your team, you can take your time with this decision. And that's something Lane Kiffin will do.

How Good Can This Team Truly Be?

I think this is the question everybody wants to know the answer to. They have one of the top offenses in the country, who have the potential to become one of the best offenses we've seen in a long time. The defense is also extremely underrated as they return seven starters from that unit. The secondary in particular has shown some great things and could seriously put this team over the top.

So can USC snap the SEC streak of national championships? Will this team live up to expectations and become one of the better teams we've seen in a while?

It's a question everyone is waiting to find out the answer to.