USC Cornerback RJ Sermons Making Strides in Spring Practice

Redshirt freshman cornerback RJ Sermons was a late addition to the USC Trojans 2025 recruiting class when he decided to reclassify at the beginning of last summer. He enrolled later that summer just in time to take part in fall camp.

Sermons was going to compete, but the plan for him in 2025 was clear. Instead of playing his senior year at Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.), Sermons, who was originally the No. 1 cornerback in the 2026 class, was going to sit, learn and develop behind the scenes and prepare himself to be ready for spring practice the following year.

USC kept Sermons engaged throughout the season by having him travel with the team for road games. He would go through the normal pregame routine with the rest of his position group and get used to everything that came with playing at the collegiate level. Everything was strategic.

This past fall gave him a head start to work with cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed and director of football sports performance Trumain Carroll, which has paid dividends. Sermons is noticeably bigger this spring, than when he enrolled last summer.

"It was huge man. He turned from a boy to a man, not just in the way he look, in the way he think, the way he act, the way he go about his business, the way he take notes," Reed said. "Everything about him has changed. The ceiling is through the roof for that guy. He will be one of those young men that when we look back on it, he gonna live up to that fifth star that he got."

What RJ Sermons Brings to the Table

Sermons has excellent size at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds. He can matchup against bigger receivers because of his size but also has the speed and fluidity to defend quicker receivers.

Sermons was a talented sprinter in high school, posting times of 10.30 in the 100m and 20.88 in the 200m in the spring of 2025, winning the CIF Division 1 Championship in both events. They were also both the second-best marks in California that season.

The local product arrived on campus a technically sound corner with good ball skills, but it has continued to be a point of emphasis under Reed.

"The number one thing is, guys get to college and everyone want to talk about what they need to work on. I want to work on what you are good at and fix the things you need to work on," Reed said. "And then that following year, we go from just average at it to good at it. So by time you get out of here, you're good or great at everything. So now you rolling into your senior year, you everything you hyped up to be, and you're a first round pick, it's always a process.

"And with guys like Rock [Elbert Hill] and RJ, what I love about them is they trust in the process. They are buying into everything themselves. For that, I'm appreciative. They don't even know how much they mean to me but I every chance I get, I tell them because I literally see them trying to do exactly what I say. And I always tell them we're not going to be robots. I want you to be yourself. I'm going to teach you this and that but when that ball in the air, you got to get it."

Intense Cornerback Battle

Hill was the No. 1 cornerback in the 2026 class according to ESPN. He and Sermons are two talented young cornerbacks vying for playing time this fall.

Redshirt sophomore Marcelles Williams returns after starting the final 11 games last season. Jontez Williams was the No. 1 cornerback in the transfer portal this cycle. He and redshirt sophomore Chasen Johnson were both out this spring as they recover from season-ending knee injuries and will join the position battle in fall camp.

Freshmen Brandon Lockhart and Jayden Crowder, and Oklahoma State transfer Carrington Pierce round out a cornerback room that will continue to be highly competitive into the fall.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/usc as USC Cornerback RJ Sermons Making Strides in Spring Practice .

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 12:00 PM.