Latest Prediction Hints at USC's Secret Weapon Heading into Next Season
When reflecting on the 2025 season for coach Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans, there are three things that typically come to mind first. Makai Lemon's breakout season, winning the Biletnikoff award deeming him the top receiver in the country. Quarterback Jayden Maiava being one of the most prolific passers in college football in just his first full season as the Trojans' starter. And lastly, the "must-win" games that cost USC a College Football Playoff berth.
But one thing that was undiscussed about USC was the emergence of an unprecedented hero from an even more unexpected place: Redshirt freshman kicker Ryon Sayeri. Sayeri went from not even being expected to be the starting kicker for the Trojans to becoming one of the most accurate kickers in the country. With that success, ESPN recently predicted Sayeri as USC's most likely player to win an award, believing he could win the Lou Groza award this upcoming season.
Ryon Sayeri Was the Bright Spot on Special Teams
In 2025, USC's special teams unit was nothing to write home about. In the kick return game, the Trojans were ranked second to last in the Big Ten in kickoff return yards per return (16.7) and dead last in punt yards (77.7) They also did not score a single special teams touchdown last season. But where they shined was in the field goal kicking game.
As a redshirt freshman, Ryon Sayeri finished season hitting 21-of-25 field goal attempts and made all 48 of his PATs. He would go on to finish the season scoring 111 points on the season, which ranked 11th in the country and second in the Big Ten. En route to setting a USC single-season record for field goals including a 54-yarder in the win over the Michigan Wolverines, Sayeri was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza award, signifying the best placekicker in the country.
Beyond just the individual success, Sayeri's breakout success was a pivotal part of USC top-ranked offense last season. The Trojans averaged 8.7 points per game on field goals and extra points per game last season. That's just over a touchdown worth of points per game practically guaranteed just from having a trustable kicker.
Sayeri going a perfect 7-of-7 kicking from 40 to 49 yards reflects just how automatic he was when faced with major opportunities. Most won't bring up special teams when talking about scoring, but for USC, Sayeri played a huge part in putting points up on the board.
USC Looks to Take the Next Step on Special Teams
Even with Sayeri being a standout for the Trojans, USC's special teams still has major work to do. Last season, defending the return game was a big issue as both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Oregon Ducks each had kick/punt returns for scores that completely changed the dynamic of those games.
Lincoln Riley clearly realized these struggles, electing to fire secondary coach Doug Belk to bring in former Nebraska Cornhuskers special teams coach Mike Ekeler to take over things. Ekeler notably spent only one season with the Cornhuskers, but was able to elevate them from 92nd in kickoff coverage in 2024 to 12th in 2025. They also improved in punt coverage (114th to 14th), kickoff return (100th to 13th) and punt return teams (111th to 17th).
The hope now is that with Ekeler's help, that the rest of the special teams can catch up to where Sayeri already is. If Sayeri can duplicate his success from last season and coach Ekeler can pull off another quick turnaround, USC may be on the verge of having the best all-around special teams unit in the country.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/usc as Latest Prediction Hints at USC's Secret Weapon Heading into Next Season.
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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 8:57 AM.