USC’s offensive line shuffle begins with Jonah Monheim moving to left tackle

A position adjustment was always in the plans for offensive lineman Jonah Monheim. Two separate USC coaching staffs agreed on that much. His future, they said, was destined for the interior. It was only a matter of when Monheim would finally shift inside.

Now one of the Pac-12 Conference’s most proven lineman, Monheim is shifting this fall from right tackle to a new position. But it won’t be on the interior just yet.

Monheim was USC’s starting left tackle as the Trojans opened camp Friday, a change offensive line coach Josh Henson said was because of “just how consistent he is on a rep-by-rep basis.”

Consistency this fall will be critical for an offensive line that looks nothing like it did at this time last year.

Monheim’s move from right tackle, where he’s started the last two seasons, would ensure that USC opens this season with an entirely rearranged line from last year. As it stands, USC is projected to have three new starters up front. Justin Dedich, the only other returning starter, moved from right guard to center in the offseason.

The rest of USC’s starting line was built on the fly this offseason via the transfer portal, a process Henson openly equated to free agency. There are definitely advantages to building in that fashion, and USC hasn’t been shy about using them.

“You can turn on the film and watch a guy playing at this level versus projecting a high school guy that you think can do it, but you don’t know that for sure,” Henson said. “Those [transfer] guys bring in a certain level of experience. They’ve all played. They’ve all been starters, and they’ve played pretty dang well.”

Michael Tarquin, a transfer who spent spring at left tackle, will start at right tackle during camp, the position he started at exclusively last season at Florida. Jarrett Kingston, who played left tackle at Washington State last season, is expected to fill one of the guard spots.

At the other guard spot, Wyoming transfer Emmanuel Pregnon begins fall camp with the inside track to start over redshirt senior Gino Quinones, who started two games last season, likely because Pregnon was hand-picked in the portal.

Pregnon, who didn’t become a starter until his third season at Wyoming, caught the attention of plenty of schools when he entered the transfer portal this offseason.

In his tape, Henson saw “glimpses of top-end potential that maybe he can be really elite someday.” But he added that Pregnon still has “a lot of room to grow.”

For now, he’s another big body added to the interior of a USC line that lacked heft last season. At 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, Pregnon is one of the biggest bodies on the Trojans’ roster.

“We’re going to be bigger, especially on the interior,” Henson said. “You really had two center-sized guys playing center and guard. Both had great seasons, with [Brett] Neilon and Dedich, but we have a chance to be beefier and bigger. I do think we have a chance to win double teams more.”

That should portend better results for USC on the ground, where the Trojans finished 53rd nationally in rushing offense last season, lagging considerably behind previous coach Lincoln Riley-run offenses.

A bigger line can’t hurt when trying to better protect Caleb Williams, your Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, either.

It’s ultimately why Monheim will make the move to left tackle, even if it‘s temporary. USC wants its most trusted lineman protecting the most vulnerable part of the pocket.

“Obviously just his experience within our system and the quality of player he’s become, there’s just a lot of comfort there that he certainly can do it,” Riley said.

Monheim’s future at the NFL level is still probably at guard or center. But for now, he doesn’t mind making another switch.

“My thought process is just kind of always the same,” Monheim said. “Whatever the coaches ask of me.”