Banuelos making up for lost time at USC

Offensive lineman has finally pushed through injuries to emerge as a factor in competition.

- By Ryan KARTJE

STEVE MARCUS Associated Press

MICAH BANUELOS "has a lot of power. He can really move people," says USC coach Lincoln Riley.

Before he arrived at USC, Micah Banuelos was already pretty accustomed to playing through pain.

As a standout offensive and defensive lineman at Kennedy Catholic High in Washington, his shoulder would pop out of its socket during almost every game. So Banuelos would check out, have his shoulder popped back in and then reenter the game like nothing changed.

“Then,” his father, Roy Banuelos, says, “he never said anything about it after.”

But when that shoulder injury lingered past high school and into his freshman season, there was no ignoring it anymore. Just weeks into his first fall at USC, the staff suggested Banuelos get surgery.

It would be a while before Banuelos made his way back — and even longer still before he'd be competing for a real role on USC's offensive line. The shoulder injury robbed him of the following spring, then a knee issue nixed his second season after just a few games. But at the start of his third fall at USC, Banuelos has finally entered the mix at guard, a position at which USC is perilously unproven.