Dennis Simmons needs to prove he belongs in the big leagues at USC

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USC football has struggled more on defense than offense, but that doesn't mean the offensive staff has a rock star at every position. There's a real case to be made that wide receiver coach Dennis Simmons, a Lincoln Riley loyalist, has been underperforming at USC. We'll explain why.

Success

Dennis Simmons has had his share of successes at USC. We aren't going to ignore them. Jordan Addison blossomed in 2022. Tahj Washington was a valuable player. Brenden Rice improved in his 2022 season. USC then produced Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane this past season. Simmons has been able to produce a big-dog receiver and a few supporting-cast performers. That's not terrible… but the USC standard has to be better than "not terrible."

Jordan Addison

Let's say this about Jordan Addison: He had already made himself a star at Pittsburgh. He remained elite at USC. Simmons gets credit for not getting in the way of Addison's development, but it's not as though he built Addison from the ground up.

Ja'Kobi Lane

Ja'Kobi Lane made big plays for USC, but he also had a case of the dropsies, notably against Notre Dame. Even though Lane is broadly a success story, it's not as though he maxed out at USC under Simmons.

Dorian Singer

This was one of the really big whiffs of the Dennis Simmons era. If anyone is going to credit him for the success stories, he needs to be held accountable for the failures. This is a conspicuous one, and it really hurt the Trojans in 2023.

Zachariah Branch

Zachariah Branch made the College Football Playoff and won the SEC title at Georgia. Kirby Smart figured out how to get production from Branch. Lincoln Riley and Dennis Simmons could not. That's a really bad look for USC, which would be in much better shape if Branch was still around and playing the way he did at UGA. It's reasonable to identify Branch as Simmons' most glaring stumble as USC receiver coach.

Duce Robinson

Obviously, Lincoln Riley deserves some of the blame for receiver defections, but it's hard to think that Dennis Simmons didn't have at least some role in creating a reality Duce Robinson didn't want to be part of at USC. Robinson is part of the larger story of USC not maximizing its receiver room under Dennis Simmons. The Trojans haven't come close to having a full room of producers since the 2022 season, when everything came together for the offense.

Overall depth

Dennis Simmons can develop stars, but where are the depth pieces? USC had real depth in 2022 but hasn't replicated that formula in subsequent seasons. Tanook Hines should be great in 2026, but who will be that third or fourth option behind him? That's where Dennis Simmons needs to show he deserves to remain as Lincoln Riley's receiver coach.

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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Dennis Simmons needs to prove he belongs in the big leagues at USC

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