ESPN names USC defensive lineman Devan Thompkins as sleeper 2025 breakout candidate

The start of the 2025 college football season is finally here. With a new season means the birth of new stars, but who could some of those stars be? In a recent story, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg listed his potential breakout stars for the 2025 college football season. One of the players that he listed was USC defensive lineman Devan Thompkins.

Here is what he had to say about the redshirt junior DL:

“USC wants to build back its defense starting with the line, and made some noticeable strides in 2024,” Rittenberg wrote. “Coach Lincoln Riley now wants the unit to be among the nation's best, and Thompkins should be a key factor. After playing sparingly his first two seasons with USC, Thompkins emerged as a key interior lineman last fall and had productive performances against Maryland, Nebraska, Notre Dame and others. He started six of USC's final eight games.

“‘He had a really strong back half of the year for us and had a great spring,’ Riley told ESPN. ‘Just can play every single position. Really talented player that came in, was incredibly raw, just his confidence, his physical ability, everything just gets better quickly. We're really, really excited about him.’”

After appearing in just three games over his first two years at USC, Thompkins broke out over the second half of last season. He finished the 2024 campaign with 24 tackles, three passes defended, and one sack. Now, he will look to take on an even bigger role for the Trojans in 2025.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football Devan Thompkins is sleeper breakout candidate for 2025