We have all been mesmerized with the greatness that is Jeremy Lin for a while now so I thought it would be fun to see which current USC player is most likely to make a Jeremy Lin-esque leap next season. I know, I just opened a flood gate of horrible Lin puns but its not like ESPN didn’t already beat me to that.
For those of us who have not fallen under the spell of Lin-mania, Jeremy Lin is a basketball player for the New York Knicks who bounced around the league before landing in NY. He went from the end of their bench and almost being cut to a solid starting spot following some insane starting performances.
For a more football relevant analogy, Lin’s story is very akin to that of Arian Foster, running back for the Houston Texans. Foster went from an undrafted free agent to the Texans practice squad. Injuries led to his opportunity to shine (just like Lin) and he took hold of that moment. Last season he was a 1200 yard rusher despite being injured for the first couple games.
Let’s bring the zero to hero argument now to the Trojan’s current roster. Who is most likely to go from being buried in the depth chart to a superstar on the field?
Personally, I think the person most likely to shine next season is going to be D.J. Morgan. Morgan is currently a redshirt Freshman from Van Nuys, CA. In high school, Morgan was an all state hurdles champion and ran for 1400 yards as a senior. Morgan is a great mix of strength and speed as he can hit the hole with power yet he remains quick enough to elude those big linebackers and linemen in the trenches.
The most important factor in Morgan’s bid to Linning next season is USC’s current situation at running back. With George Farmer moving back to wide receiver, that leaves only Curtis McNeal and D.J. Morgan on the depth chart. Incoming freshman Jahleel Pinner is expected to be the starting fullback or at least vie for that role. No one else on the current or incoming roster is poised to make a move to the running back position. That leaves the Trojans woefully thin at tailback, but for Morgan this is a Lin-credible opportunity.
Next Page: What Morgan Could Bring
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