USC receiver Makai Lemon earned high praise from Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who called him one of the most impactful players he has seen in over 20 years.
Lemon leads all Power Four receivers with 1,090 receiving yards and has become deadly in yards after the catch.
After succeeding against other top defenses, Lemon faces his next challenge against the nation’s top passing defense in Oregon.
Kirk Ferentz hadn’t observed many like him.
In 27 seasons as Iowa coach, Ferentz has face some of the Big Ten’s great skill players. Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, Plaxico Buress, Braylon Edwards and the constant NFL stars coming out of Ohio State.
Yet out of the more than 330 games he’s been on the sideline for, Ferentz hadn’t seen anyone do what Southern California receiver Makai Lemon did.
“(Lemon) is as good as I’ve seen. Going back 20-plus years, I don’t know if anybody’s impacted the game more,” Ferentz said. “He’s a really outstanding player.”
What did Lemon do to earn such praise? Just torch the Hawkeyes for 153 yards on 10 catches and a touchdown as the Trojans rallied for a 26-21 win in Week 12.
Consider Ferentz among the latest to learn the hard way about one of the most explosive receivers in college football. He may not be the biggest – standing at just 5-foot-11-inches – but as the saying goes, it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.
And this dog isn’t afraid of much, ripping apart defenses as he leads USC at a chance to return back to prominence.
‘He’s a fearless player,” said coach Lincoln Riley. “He’s always had just that fearless quality to him, and that continues to show up to this day.”
Makai Lemon putting on some ‘man strength’
After consistently improving his first two seasons in Los Angeles, Lemon went into his junior year with the goal of getting stronger. Luckily, USC brought in longtime strength and conditioning coach Trumain Carroll to toughen up the Trojans.
Emphasis was put on the offensive and defensive line, but Lemon put in the work in the weight room; he added five pounds, feeling muscular and more explosive.
“This is a man’s game, so you got to put on some man strength,” Lemon said in August.
The work has translated onto the field, as Lemon has become a deadly weapon in USC’s high powered offense. He has 1,090 receiving yards, the most among players on Power Four teams and third-most in all of the Bowl Subdivision. He’s had five games with at least 125 receiving yards and is a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation’s best receiver.
What makes Lemon so spectacular is he can do it in any way that’s asked. Out wide, in the slot or behind the quarterback, Lemon impacts every part of the field.
Despite not having a tall stature, he has the ability to reach up and snatch the ball above defenders. If he’s not making sensational catches, he’s maneuvering through defenses and finding open space for quarterback Jayden Maiava to thread the needle.
Riley has praised his ability as a route runner, noting Lemon has a deep understanding of how defenses scheme.
But if there’s a part of his game that stands out, it’s the one Lemon takes the most pride in: yards after the catch. Of his 1,090 receiving yards, 467 have come after the catch, the most in the Big Ten.
“Anytime I try to catch, I’m just trying to take it to the end zone,” Lemon said.
Can Makai Lemon beat another top defense?
Ferentz was the latest coach to have a strong passing defense that couldn’t find an answer to stop Lemon’s impact. In the past three weeks, USC has gone against teams that rank No. 3 (Nebraska), No. 31 (Northwestern) and No. 6 (Iowa) in passing yards allowed.
The Cornhuskers were able to limit Lemon to a season-low 14 yards on two catches. In the past two games, Lemon has 21 catches for 314 yards and two touchdowns.
The opponents don’t get any easier Saturday, Nov. 22 against Oregon, which has the best passing defense in the country, giving up just 127.3 yards in the air. Montana State’s Taco Dowler and Indiana’s Elijah Sarratt are the only receivers to get at least 100 yards against the Ducks secondary.
Even with the challenge Lemon and USC face, Oregon knows it will be equally as tough trying to stop one of the game’s best receivers.
‘He’s a tough matchup,’ said Oregon coach Dan Lanning. ‘The fact that they move him around certainly makes it a challenge. It’s hard. You’ve seen some teams try to match up to him and that can be difficult in certain calls, also could be an indicator at times.’
Lemon isn’t the most vocal person, nor does he really care about what people say about him.
That works just fine since his play has done plenty of talking. If he’s able to dissect another vaunted defense in Autzen Stadium, Lemon could lead the Trojans back into the national spotlight.
“It’s gonna be a fun one on Saturday,” Lemon said. “Another game to put on, show what we do on the field.”