Isaiah Langley Commits to USC at Nike’s The Opening by Michael Castillo

USC’s defensive line suffered a major blow Tuesday afternoon, when the Trojans’ athletic department reported that Kenny Bigelow will miss the entire 2014 campaign:

USC DL Kenny Bigelow (@4_Fighton_0) is out for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee suffered in voluntary player workouts. #FightOn — USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) July 8, 2014

Bigelow was projected to compete for a starting interior lineman spot to replace George Uko, who elected to leave USC early for the NFL.

The 6-foot-3, 300-pound tackle was one of USC’s most promising young athletes, and was expected to be a cornerstone of the Trojans’ dominant defensive line in 2014.

In his absence, it’s likely that Claudeson Pelon, a junior-college transfer, will step up in his place. And that’s not a bad thing for the Trojans, as he brings in two years of experience at that level to the Trojans.

The Trojans have been dealing with depth issues for some time now, so while this news is crippling, USC has experience bouncing back from devastating losses. In 2012, defensive end Devon Kennard went down with a torn pectoral muscle, and his absence was filled seamlessly by Morgan Breslin.

Pelon now has the chance to do the same in place of Bigelow.