Is USC Trojans Receiver Makai Lemon Best in Big Ten Conference?

USC Trojans sophomore receiver Makai Lemon reeled in a career-high nine receptions for 133 yards against Notre Dame on Saturday. The Southern California native also eclipsed 1,000 all-purpose yards on the season. Is Lemon the best receiver in the Big Ten?

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) catches the ball against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

By the end of the 2023 regular season USC Trojans receiver Makai Lemon was lining up at corner because of struggles on the backend of the defense. In 2024, Lemon emerged as the Trojans top return specialist and one of the top pass-catchers. 

On Saturday, the Los Alamitos, California, native eclipsed 1,000 all-purpose yards on the season. Against Notre Dame, Lemon reeled in a career-high nine catches for 133 yards and was the highest-graded receiver in the Big Ten in week 14. The Irish were the No. 1-ranked pass defense in the country heading into the contest.

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) catches the ball against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Despite being the “MVP of Fall Camp," according to redshirt senior receiver Kyle Ford, it was a slow start for Lemon, hauling in just four catches for 45 yards in the first two games of the season. And in Week 4, Lemon sustained a scary injury at Michigan when he collided with a Wolverines defender running down the field on a punt. The Trojans training staff worked on him for an extensive amount of time, and he eventually left the stadium in an ambulance. 

Lemon returned to action in October and started to play the best football of his career. He had three consecutive games where he recorded career-highs in either receptions or receiving yards. On a Friday night against Rutgers, Lemon put together his best performance of the season making an impact on offense and the return game when he recorded 256 all-purpose yards, the most by a Trojans player since Adoree Jackson in 2016 and was the first player since Marquise Lee in 2012 to have a return of 80+ yards and a reception of 70+ yards in the same game.

The former four-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting cycle continued to progress throughout his sophomore campaign and despite missing almost two full games, Lemon ranks second on the team in receptions (46) and first in receiving yards (665).

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

"I know you got to stay patient, not everything is going to come super-fast” Lemon said in October. “You got to kind of work for it, you know wait on it, then the big prize is going to come.”

Lemon became a reliable pass-catcher for quarterback Miller Moss and eventually Jayden Maiava when he took over as the signal-caller. His ability to generate explosive plays at any given opponent in the passing or return game has been extremely valuable for the Trojans.

“Lem’s incredible, man,” said receiver Duce Robinson in October. "Lem’s a dog. He is everything that you’d want a great receiver to be. He's super physical, a dog mindset, he catches everything, runs great routes. Anything you can ask for, Lem has it.”

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