USC WR Gets Honest on Stepping In for Injured Ja’Kobi Lane After Surprise B1G Recognition

The USC Trojans’ win over Michigan State was another step for Lincoln Riley to step away from his $90 million hot seat. However, Ja’Kobi Lane’s absence raised certain eyebrows. The wide receiver sustained an injury against Purdue. But these are not your Trojans of the past. Not even last year. When one player goes down, the next is up! That’s what the head coach has drilled into. In Lane’s absence, Makai Lemon stepped up and proved why there was preseason hype around him.

“You know, the guys know next man up. You know what I’m saying?” Makai Lemon said in a media appearance. One of the key explosive players in Riley’s playbook, Lemon has stepped up to man the front lines in the wake of Ja’Kobi Lane’s undisclosed injury. Although Lane was present on the sidelines on Saturday, the official injury report listed his status as ‘questionable.’ The timing of Lane’s injury is concerning, given that Michigan, Illinois, and Notre Dame are waiting for the Trojans, but Makai Lemon is going strong.

On Saturday against the Michigan State Spartans, the 5’11” wide receiver touched the ball 16 times, in four different ways, and scored two touchdowns. One through the air and another on the ground. Early in the second quarter, Jayden Maiava threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Lemon, extending the lead from 10-7 to 17-7. His second TD came in the fourth quarter with 8:20 on the clock, as a 4-yard rushing touchdown. The 225 all-purpose yards were the third most of his career. In addition to that, he also recorded three kickoffs for 64 yards, returned one punt for 23 yards, and caught two punts.

Lemon entered the Trojans’ roster back in 2023, straight from high school. Last season, he chipped in 43 passes for 525 yards and 12 touchdowns. Heading into the 2025 season, his momentum hasn’t dimmed a dollop. Riley’s confidence has also drilled down into the roster, and it has made an impact. As Lemon said. “100%. If the coach is confident, you know, it’s only going ot make the players confident,” Lemon said during the press conference. “We just be putting our full trust in the coaches, you know, going out there and do what we need to do.”

Presently, there is no official statement from Riley on Lane’s injury. Neither the status nor the type of injury has been revealed. “[It] was a little bit unexpected. I don’t think it’ll be super long.” He further added that he is optimistic about Lane heading towards the trenches pretty soon. And Makai Lemon reiterated the same sentiment. “We’re not going to dwell on that too much. You know, I wish we could have him out there, but you know, he’s going to be back soon.”

Makai Lemons has been stepping up big

The weekend’s win over Michigan State bestowed not just one or two accolades on Makai Lemon. He tops the Big 10 charts, receiving the highest grade awarded to a wide receiver at 83.5 by the PFF. Overall in the Power 4, he boasts the No. 4th spot at 88.4. Moreover, he has the most yards after catch at 254 in the Big 10 and No. 2 in the Power 4.

He even made it to The Athletic’s top 25 Big Ten players into the 2025 season, and Makai was the only Trojan who secured a spot, seated at No. 25. “The 5’11, 195-pound  junior and former top-100 recruit started only six games but still led the Trojans with 52 catches for 764 yards and three touchdowns,” Manny Navarro wrote. “He was also valuable on kickoff returns.”

In addition to that, he was named the Paul Hornung National Player of the Week over his performance on Saturday. This award is bestowed upon the most versatile player in college football, and Makai’s showdown on Saturday proved enough to paint a picture of his merit. For the last two seasons, Travis Hunter, who is presently with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has won the honor.

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