USC football has to improve in many ways.This is not yet a complete team which knows it can beat the very best in college football. However, one position group has knocked it out of the park in the first two games of the season, and one member of that position group has been an absolute rock star for the Trojans: receiver Trent Mosley.
We're going to say something you might not agree with, but we think it's true (otherwise, we wouldn't say it). Here goes:
Trent Mosley is USC's best receiver right now
Most USC fans and analysts, ourselves included, went into the 2026 season thinking that Tanook Hines was USC's best receiver and would be the team's best receiver this year. However, Trent Mosley has been so dynamic that we think he has already ascended to the top spot.
Full package
Route-running, speed, football
IQ, making defenders miss, consistency, potency. Trent Mosley has all of these qualities. He pops. He is electric. He has already set the bar so high in so many ways that he absolutely should be considered USC's best receiver.
Tanook Hines can change this
None of this is a swipe at Tanook Hines. He has been injured and is slowly working his way back. If Hines has a few dominant games, this conversation can and will be revisited. Right now, though, it's Mosley who is the leader of this receiver room.
Jordan Addison
Trent Mosley's explosiveness and ability to get wide open remind us of Jordan Addison from 2022. It is amazingly impressive that Mosley is doing what he is doing as a freshman. Addison was an upperclassman and proven veteran player when he starred for USC in 2022.
Terrell Anderson
Trent Mosley is doing everything he is doing without Terrell Anderson on the field. That makes Mosley's body of work even more spectacular than it already is. It also means that when Anderson gets integrated into the lineup, this already-impressive receiver room could become even more powerful. That's exciting.
Oregon
We aren't going to learn too much from the USC receivers against Louisiana or Rutgers. The true proving ground is against the Ducks. If Trent Mosley plays his best against Oregon, USC might gain its biggest win since Notre Dame in 2022.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Real talk: Trent Mosley is already USC's best 2026 wide receiver
