Freshman cornerback on USC's 2026 roster.
6′1″ · 190 lb · San Bernardino, CA · Rancho Cucamonga HS
Recruiting
CB recruit
No. 105 nationally · Signed with USC
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
1 cornerback on USC's 2026 roster.
RJ Sermons
One game to point at: 2 tackles against Louisiana — Week 2, 2026.
5 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lincoln Riley
Pass share
46.0%
97 pass / 114 run
Plays / game
70.3
3 games
Team sack rate
2.0%
102 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | USC | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 49–30
vs Louisiana
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-26vs San José State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 1 | W 39-0vs Fresno State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 49-30vs Louisiana | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
2026 Outlook
USC
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Cornerback · USC
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
USC · Last season: 9-4 (AP #16) · Talent rank #9 · 2026 recruiting class #1
2026: Sermons will compete for playing time at cornerback as a redshirt freshman in 2026. 2025: Sermons, who reclassified to forgo his senior year of high school, did not see action as a true freshman in 2025. HIGH SCHOOL: Sermons, a four-star recruit, was ranked as the No. 1 cornerback and the N...
17 more on the roster · USC team page