USC lose defensive end Lucas for rest of season

USC defensive end Anthony Lucas will miss the rest of the season due to a “lower extremity” injury, head coach Lincoln Riley announced Tuesday.

According to Riley, Lucas had a procedure done Tuesday morning.

Lucas limped off the field in USC’s game against Minnesota two weeks ago and did not return. Lucas did, however, play limited snaps in the Trojans’ loss against Penn State Saturday.

The former five-star recruit played his freshman season at Texas A&M before transferring to USC in the spring of 2023.

After appearing in all 13 games last season, Lucas had shown promise as a key part of the Trojans’ revamped defense under new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. This season, he had tallied 16 tackles.

Lucas’ absence the rest of the year deals a significant blow to USC’s defensive line depth, which is already thin. The unit will likely turn to freshman defensive end Kamryn Fountain, a four-star recruit, to fill in the void.

After starting the season 3-1 and rising as high as 11th in the AP Poll, USC has lost two straight games and three of their last four.