NCAA Football: Utah State at Southern California Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

USC Trojans Announce Legendary Week 1 Tunnel Captain

Originally posted on LAFB Network | By Ryan Dyrud | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 11:13 PM ET

The USC Trojans have a storied tradition of having an honorary tunnel captain run the team out of the tunnel to open the game in front of the fans in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

It’s always fun to see the alumni hype up the crowd and then get to run out onto the field like they are part of the team yet again.

To open the season, USC has announced that wide receiver great and NFL first-round draft pick, Drake London, will be the honorary tunnel captain against Missouri State.

OFFICIAL: 2021 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year @DrakeLondon_ will lead @uscfb out of the tunnel at this weekend's season opener!#FightOn | @Lyfe_Law pic.twitter.com/QGHVd6U3ko
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) August 28, 2025

Drake London Named USC Trojans Tunnel Captain

USC Trojans Announce Legendary Week 1 Tunnel Captain 1 James Snook-Imagn Images

While London’s teams were somewhat disappointing during the Clay Helton era, he will always be remembered as one of the top receivers in USC history, and certainly one of the most talented college football wide receivers ever.

There were games where he was the only option on offense, and defenses still could not stop him.

As a true freshman in 2019, London finished with 39 receptions, 567 yards, and 5 touchdowns. He played in an offense with Tyler Vaughns, Michal Pittman Jr., and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

His sophomore season was the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He still finished with 502 yards and 3 touchdowns in just 6 games.

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2021 was London’s final season in college, and where he truly left his mark. He only played in 8 games as he was injured late in the season against Notre Dame. Yet, he still finished with 88 receptions, 1,084 yards, and 7 touchdowns. Had he played the entire season, he could have contended for Marqise Lee’s program record of 1,721 receiving yards.

For his efforts, he was named the PAC-12 Offensive Player of the Year and was the first receiver taken in the 2022 NFL Draft with the 8th overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons.

London hopes that some of his magic rubs off on the USC Trojans on Saturday Night. Kickoff is set for 4:30 PM PT.

This article first appeared on LAFB Network and was syndicated with permission.

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