On Tuesday September 23, 2025, USC true freshman cornerback Alex Graham practiced in full pads for the first time since his undisclosed injury, which occurred during fall camp.
This is absolutely massive news for the USC defense, because before his injury, Graham was rumored to be competing for a starting spot in the secondary. Because he is practicing in full pads, it looks like his return is imminent barring any setbacks. If not this week against Illinois, then after the bye week against Michigan.
USC has one of the best offenses in all of college football, and their defensive line has been dominant, but their secondary has been shaky at best and porous at worst.
A big underlying narrative of the secondary’s struggles is the fact that star USC safety Kamari Ramsey has had to play at the nickel spot due to multiple injuries in the secondary, including Graham’s. If Graham can play nickel, that could allow Ramsey to move back to safety and potentially give USC both an upgrade at safety AND nickel.
Having two studs healthy and playing their normal position could make this USC secondary much more difficult to attack. And that would make USC a much more well rounded team, better equipped to compete for a College Football Playoff appearance.
All About Alex Graham
Alex Graham is a four star cornerback recruit out of Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan.
He was the 27th ranked cornerback prospect in the country in the 2025 class and the No. 3 CB out of the state of Michigan.
Scouts say he has great closing speed and is a physical tackler. He also reportedly has great ball skills and instincts.
There are some injury concerns with him, as he was injury prone early in his high school career.
Graham enrolled at USC in the Spring of 2025 after graduating from high school a semester early. He is still only 18 years old.
If he does return this week, USC fans should definitely give him some grace. He is a very young college player who will be taking part in his first collegiate game whenever he returns. If he makes a couple mistakes, that would be understandable.
But USC has already seen another early enrollee true freshman make a massive impact: defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart. So who knows? Graham could be an instant star like “Thanos” has been.
Can USC Take Advantage of Luke Altmyer’s Shortcomings?
Heading into the season, Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer was thought to be one of the best in the Big Ten, if not all of college football.
But four games into the season, Altmyer is only ninth in the Big Ten in passing yards with 855. By comparison, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava is first with 1,223.
Altmyer still has a good completion rate at 70% and has not thrown an interception yet this season.
But the deeper analytics suggest that’s because he’s playing a very conservative game. He has a 34.1% pressure to sack percentage, which is second worst in the Power 4 conferences.
DL needs to continue beating down QBs ⚔️
#FightOn✌🏻 #BeatTheIllini⚔️When pressure is in Altmyer’s face, he tends to hold onto the ball and go down.
In his first game against a power four opponent this past Saturday against Indiana, Altmyer threw for only 146 yards on an average of 6.6 yards per pass.
USC needs to get pressure in Altmyer’s face, and if they can keep the Illinois receivers covered for more than a couple seconds, their pass rush can be even more effective.
USC fans, what do you think about the Alex Graham injury news?
USC Gets Huge Injury News That Could Transform Trojans’ Defense