Makai Lemon and his team have been making waves since Sunday, and the underdog wide receiver is getting his share of the spotlight. 

The USC Trojans WR is gearing up for a huge matchup against the fierce LSU Tigers. Well, it’s a rare showdown, as these teams have only met twice in over three decades, with each holding one win. Now, they’re ready to break the tie, and Makai Lemon could play a key role in that.

Lemon joined Lincoln Riley’s team just last year, choosing to play for his hometown fav, USC. Yep! This California native talent attended Los Alamitos High School before stepping into Riley’s offensive system as a wide receiver. But here’s the cool part—Lemon is a two-way star! He plays both wideout and cornerback, just like Buffs’ star Travis Hunter.

In his sophomore season with the Trojans, Lemon appeared in 9 games and made a decent contribution. He recorded 1 tackle and got 6 receptions for 88 yards on offense. Of course, he’s got a long way to reach Hunter’s level. But that’s not stopping him to dream big for the Trojans. In an interview during spring practice, Lemon stressed that his priority is to “help the team win.” And there’s no doubt that he’s already on the right path! 

This year, he was even named to the watch list for the ‘Polynesian College Football Player’ honors, all due to his Polynesian heritage. But with the Trojans on the rise, it looks like more elite accolades could be in Lemon’s future.

The Makai lemon show is yet to begin

It’s 27-20 and the Trojans won over the Tigers! Amidst all the TV blackouts and tense social media moments, the USC Trojans saw their first big win in their new Big 10 conference. Well, it’s not just Lincoln Riley holding the fort. The Trojans had a lot of young talents from their 2023 recruiting class. This included a whole bunch of fresh wideouts like Makai Lemon, Ja’Kobi Lane, and Zachariah Branch, who all connected with their quarterback Miller Moss for a great show today.

In the game against LSU, Moss threw a touchdown pass to Ja’Kobi Lane, and he also tried to throw one to Makai Lemon, but it was intercepted. However, the Trojans won the game at the very end, with Miller Moss making some great plays. Well, we can also see Lemon making some great plays with Moss soon given the bond they have. Talking to the press months before the season opener, Lemon oozed positivity over his QB, saying, “Always been comfortable with him [Miller Moss] ever since I really been coming in. So you know just even have that year going to the season kind of familiar with them.” 

Now that the QB has got his spotlight, the next we can expect is Makai Lemon to shine.