USC offensive lineman Kilian O’Connor will miss the 2026 season due to a non-contact injury sustained in practice.

“Certainly one of the leaders and kind of heartbeats of this program,” head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters on Thursday. “Tough one for the guys to see. A great reminder for all of our guys, just how nothing in this game is ever guaranteed.”

It’s the second injury in as many seasons for O’Connor, a former walk-on who was projected to start at center this season. He dealt with a knee injury last season and played in eight of the Trojans’ 13 games with seven starts.

The redshirt senior spoke about staying strong through last season’s injury during USC’s preseason media day event on Monday.

“I’m so fortunate to have such a solid support system both back home with my family as well as the group of people I have here,” he said. “Also, my faith in God has really helped me through those tough times.”

The Trojans returned all five starters on the offensive line this season and have the depth to replace O’Connor at center.

Redshirt sophomore Kaylon Miller has taken repetitions at center and redshirt freshman Willi Wascher was second on the depth chart at the position for the Alamo Bowl last season. The coaching staff could also choose to shuffle players on the offensive line, like they did last season because of multiple injuries.

“We’re fortunate to have enough depth on the O-line that we’ve been working on to obviously be able to continue to push forward,” Riley said.