USC football 2023 preview: Record prediction, breakout candidates, bowl game

3 breakout candidates for USC football in 2023

WR Zachariah Branch

USC has a strong history of freshman wide receivers making an early mark on offense. Zachariah Branch has all the hallmarks of the next one in that line.

Branch has worked his way up the depth chart since he arrived in spring as a five-star recruit. The small-but-speedy talent is now expected to see regular action in the wide receiver rotation in Year 1.

EDGE Solomon Byrd

Transfers on defense have commanded a lot of attention this offseason, but returning contributor Solomon Byrd may be ready to break through as an edge rusher for the Trojans.

This shouldn't necessarily surprise USC fans who were pleasantly surprised to see Byrd pop up with three sacks in the Trojans' first three games last year. However, his production and playing time dwindled as the season went on.

Byrd has been a standout all of fall camp and looks ready for a much bigger role in 2023.

LB Tackett Curtis

A slew of injuries at linebacker didn't help USC's defensive woes at all last year. So it's a slight concern that injuries continue to play a role as the team gears up for the season. Mason Cobb is a sure-fire starter at linebacker but his partner in the middle of the defense is still up in the air as Eric Gentry continues to recover from foot surgery and returning starter Shane Lee deals with an issue of his own.

On the plus side, those injury concerns have opened the door for a player Caleb Williams refers to as "The Destroyer" to get first-team reps going into the season. That's Tackett Curtis, the freshman who won over the hearts of Trojans recruitniks with his impressive high school highlight reel.

Curtis looks like the future for USC at linebacker and Trojan fans won't have to wait long to see him in action.