USC might have found its next superstar receiver in freshman: ‘He’s special’

One of the big questions facing USC entering its most pivotal season of the Lincoln Riley era was who would replace star wide receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane.

With every catch he made and tackle he broke in his collegiate debut, Trent Mosley provided an answer.

Hey, I’m here!

Drawing immediate comparisons to Lemon for his big-play ability Saturday at the Coliseum, Mosley looked like an NFL-ready true freshman.

Trent Mosley of the USC Trojans returns a kick as Colton Busic of the San Jose Spartans closes in on him on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. Getty Images

“That kid moves differently,” running back King Miller said after the No. 14 Trojans’ 42-26 victory over San Jose State. “I mean, he’s special.”

By snagging seven passes for 118 yards and a touchdown, Mosley became the first USC freshman to top 100 receiving yards in his first college game since JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2014. His production was especially meaningful on a day that top returning receiver Tanook Hines did not play while continuing to round into form from an offseason medical procedure.

Perhaps Mosley’s biggest highlight came the first time he touched the ball.

After grabbing a punt midway through the first quarter, Mosley sidestepped a lunging defender and raced toward the far side of the field. Slipping one tackle, he cut back inside, breaking another tackle just past midfield while somehow keeping his balance and his legs churning.

Finally brought down after a 41-yard return, Mosley had energized the crowd and his teammates, not to mention a former Trojan.

“Trent Mosley will be a monster at returner!!” tweeted Su’a Kristopher Cravens, the onetime USC safety who played multiple seasons in the NFL and is now an analyst for ESPN and the Big Ten Network. “Yal [sic] just got a lil taste of what I been seeing since spring.”

Mosley repeatedly saved Jayden Maiava on a day the veteran quarterback wasn’t his best, stretching his arms high into the air to make a 20-yard catch on an overthrown pass. It wasn’t the only time Mosley bailed out Maiava, earning him more passes thrown his way.

“Every time he caught the ball [after] I threw it to him,” said Maiava, who completed 25 of 29 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns, “that trust just got a lot deeper.”

Showing toughness to go with his speed and soft hands, Mosley finished with 52 yards after the catch, impressing even his defensive teammates.

“That kid is special, man,” linebacker Desman Stephens II said. “I see it, y’all see it — he’s just a special player and just the way that Lincoln Riley uses all those guys to just run that offense is great.”

Head coach Lincoln Riley of the USC Trojans looks on in the second quarter against the Utah Utes at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 21, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images

Mosley was part of a massive youth movement, starting alongside fellow true freshman wide receivers Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (four catches for 36 yards and a touchdown) and Tron Baker (four catches for 45 yards) as well as true freshman tight end Mark Bowman (three catches for 15 yards).

Nobody else — regardless of their experience level — popped like Mosley, who was not made available for interviews after the game.

His touchdown came late in the third quarter when he caught the ball inside the 10-yard line and accelerated into the front right corner of the end zone, completing a 14-yard reception. It was apparently nothing new for the Trojans.

“I don’t think anybody here is very surprised, so that’s kind of what it looks like most days there right outside of Bloom,” Riley said, referring to the team’s new practice facility. “So he’s a consistent player and an explosive player, and I thought he came in and attacked it, didn’t play hesitant and was a good weapon for us both obviously offensively and in the [special] teams game.”

Having been coached by USC legend Carson Palmer at Santa Margarita High, Mosley fully understands Trojan tradition and what it means to represent the Cardinal-and-Gold.

Mosley certainly comes from a winning athletic heritage. His father, Emmett, played football at Notre Dame, and his mother, Cindy, was the Heisman Trophy winner for women’s soccer at Notre Dame. His sister, Jalyn, played soccer at Iowa, and his older brother, Emmett, is a receiver at Texas.

If the young Trojans receiver keeps this up, the family might soon be best known for the next USC superstar.