When Bryan Jackson first arrived at USC last January, he was still a few months away from his 18th birthday. The bright-eyed freshman running back had graduated high school early in hopes of starting at USC. And it was immediately clear how quickly the ground was moving beneath his feet.

But Jackson, a 230-pound power back, decided not to let the speed consume him. He watched closely as Woody Marks, the Trojans’ workhorse and Jackson’s roommate on the road, struggled through an outstanding season. He took note of Marks’ every move, how he arrived early and stayed late, how he took care of his body, how he watched a movie and put everything away for when his moment finally came.

At the time, it seemed like Jackson would have to wait a while with Marks at the helm and sophomore standout Quinten Joyner waiting in the wings. But Marks opted out of the bowl game and Joyner entered the transfer portal, and suddenly the keys to USC’s backfield for Friday’s Las Vegas Bowl against Texas A&M were in the hands of one of the youngest players on USC’s roster, a straight-A freshman times 30 years 20 bears his name.

“It’s an opportunity for me,” Jackson said recently, “one of the greatest opportunities of my life.”

Similar circumstances are unfolding across college football this month, with the transfer portal wreaking havoc on rosters and NFL prospects opting out of bowling en masse. USC has already had 19 players enter the transfer portal, while three others — Marks, center Jonah Monheim and cornerback Jaylin Smith — have decided to skip the bowl game rather than prepare for the draft.

As a result, there have been plenty of opportunities to win over the last month, both in USC’s lineup and others. In addition to a brand new backfield, USC will be rolling with two new offensive linemen – Kilian O’Connor at center and Tobias Raymond at right tackle – and will be without three of its top five receivers this season. On both sides of the ball, young players are expected to play important roles Friday as USC looks ahead to next season.

“Part of this feels like the last game of this year and in some ways like the first game of next year,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said.

USC coach Lincoln Riley chats with quarterback Jayden Maiava during a win over Nebraska on Nov. 16 at the Coliseum.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, however, said he’s basically already done with the Aggies’ season. With three starters along the Aggies’ defensive front, Elko said Friday that his staff approached the bowl more like an “opener” than the final stamp of their season. He assumes that USC will also look completely different than it did a few weeks ago.

“You’re playing with guys in new places, new faces,” Riley said. “Even the preparation for it is a little different because you don’t have the full squad. But you have to adapt. I think going through what we did last year helped us. I think we are less surprised by what happened and understood how to plan from the beginning.”

In fact, the depth was far worse last December, when USC only had 53 players active for the Holiday Bowl. Still, with an army of reserves and a six-touchdown performance from backup quarterback Miller Moss, USC secured a stunning victory that gave the Trojans a wave of momentum early in the offseason.

That dynamic didn’t mean much when USC’s first Big Ten slate was in full swing, as Moss was benched and the Trojans stumbled to a 6-6 finish. But it wasn’t until last bowl season that several building blocks for future USC teams first emerged. That includes starting left tackle Elijah Paige and standout receiver Ja’Kobi Lane, who scored two touchdowns in the Holiday Bowl.

These opportunities, Riley reiterated Thursday, can be incredibly valuable.

“It’s a chance to showcase the program, it’s a chance for young people to get involved,” Riley said. “It’s another chance and we just don’t get that many in this game.”

This could once again prove particularly consequential for USC’s plans at the quarterback position. Riley has yet to sign another passer in the transfer portal and said earlier this month that any new quarterback would only serve as “depth” behind Jayden Maiava. But Maiava was brought in under similar circumstances last January, only to oust Moss as the starter in November.

He could soon have another quarterback to contend with in five-star rookie Husan Longstreet, who joined the team for practice this month and took part in the bowl festivities in Las Vegas. Circumstances were already unusual enough for Maiava this week as USC practiced on the campus of Nevada Las Vegas, the school he left to join USC.

“He never expected anything other than us to train him hard and develop him,” Riley said of his quarterback, “and he was ready when his opportunity came.”

That’s the mindset Jackson has tried to carry over into bowl season, preparing as if this was his moment to take control of the USC backfield for 2025. On Friday, he’ll share carries with another young back, A’Marion Peterson, before another ball carrier – New Mexico’s Eli Sanders – soon joins the mix. The outlook for USC’s rushing attack could only get bleaker from here.

Riley called it “a tremendous opportunity for (Jackson and Peterson) to show that they can do the things that great defenders need to do in our offense.”

It’s been a while since Riley has paired up with a true power back like Jackson, but the rookie has spent bowl season convincing the coach he’s ready and has proven it with numerous cuts and bruises.

“It was a tough time, man,” Jackson said with a smile.

But opportunities like this, he knows, don’t come along often.

“They gave me a chance to be the guy,” Jackson said, “so I’m giving it everything I’ve got.”