USC’s 2026 kickoff countdown brings back memories of Deontay Burnett’s Rose Bowl surge

USC is marking the final stretch toward its 2026 season opener with a recurring “countdown to kickoff” feature that highlights former Trojans by the uniform number they wore. In the latest installment, the spotlight is on wide receiver Deontay Burnett, a player who became a defining presence in USC’s 2017 run and, more specifically, delivered one of the most electric performances in Rose Bowl history for the program.

According to the feature, USC’s season begins on August 29, when the Trojans host San Jose State at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The point of the series is not standings or depth-chart forecasting. It is a look backward at the kind of game-changing playmaking that can shape how fans remember a season, and how the next roster group inherits the standards of past ones.

Burnett’s USC career followed a familiar arc: he was relatively quiet early, then opened up in the second half of his sophomore year and broke out in a major way by his junior season. In 2017, he became USC’s top receiving option, posting 86 catches for 1,114 yards and nine touchdowns. The numbers mattered because they came in a year when USC needed reliable production to stay competitive in high-leverage matchups.

The Trojans Wire write-up connected Burnett’s breakout to a standout performance against Texas in 2017, describing a game in which he finished with eight receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns, including a score in overtime. That detail matters because it frames Burnett not just as a receiver who accumulated yards, but as someone who made plays when the outcome was still undecided.

The defining moment, though, came in the 2017 Rose Bowl against Penn State. The feature credits Burnett with a signature stat line: 13 catches for 164 yards and three touchdowns. It also emphasizes the late drama, including one of his touchdowns as a tying score with 1:20 remaining. USC ultimately won 52-49, with the article noting the game-ending sequence ended on a walk-off field goal.

Part of what made Burnett’s Rose Bowl performance resonate was the way it turned the receiver into the centerpiece of the closing act. The write-up says the national broadcast moment was captured in ESPN commentator Chris Fowler’s call: “Touchdown! Deontay Burnett with the hat trick!” That kind of on-air recognition is often what turns a great stat line into a lasting piece of program lore, and it helps explain why USC’s offseason remembrance series would choose him for a prominent spot in its countdown.

After his junior season, Burnett declared for the 2018 NFL Draft, then went undrafted, signing as a free agent with the Tennessee Titans. The Trojans Wire account adds that he later appeared for the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles as well, recording 16 receptions for 215 yards across regular-season action between 2018 and 2020, plus one postseason game. The point of including that professional detour is to complete the narrative arc from USC standout to pro opportunity, even if his NFL career took a different path than many hoped.

For USC, the immediate takeaway is cultural rather than tactical. The countdown series is a reminder that the Trojans’ offense, at its best, can be built around receivers who consistently turn designed routes into separation and, on special days, into touchdowns. As August practices begin in earnest, fans will be looking for current playmakers to show the same ability to do the job at moments that decide games. Burnett’s Rose Bowl memory sets a clear benchmark for the kind of impact USC wants to develop again, even if the roster details for 2026 are still taking shape.