Cody Kessler still remembers the message today, which was Marcus Allen's intent when he delivered it to Kessler nearly two years ago.

USC had reached its low point of the NCAA sanctions era, a 3-2 start in 2013 that triggered the middle-of-the-night sacking of coach Lane Kiffin after an ugly loss at Arizona State. Kessler and others immediately began asking: What happens now? Allen entered a tense team room the following week, and the 1981 Heisman Trophy winner went right to the Trojans' starting quarterback.

Cody, this is your team. What happens with these guys this year, next year, the years to come, is on you. It's up to you.

"That point hit me," Kessler said. "One of these guys who won the Heisman, who won the national championship and played three or four great seasons here, is calling me out.

"It's something that echoes, not just for him but the guys who have played before."

Allen's words echo for Kessler, too, now more than ever. He enters his final season at USC with great numbers but zero championships.

Cody Kessler and the Trojans have high hopes heading into the 2015 season. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

A chance to snap the Trojans' title droughts -- seven years for the Pac-12 and 11 for the national crown -- brought Kessler back for a fifth year. Like many in the program, he sees a roster with not only the talent but the numbers to do it. The media agrees, tapping USC as the Pac-12 favorite ahead of Oregon, last year's national runner-up.

The Trojans are practicing with 78 scholarship players, still not ideal but a significant improvement from last season, when it entered some games with fewer than 50 healthy scholarship players.

"Everybody in the building feels like we're free now, right?" coach Steve Sarkisian said while sitting in his office at the John McKay Center this spring. "It's a credit to Lane and it's a credit to Ed [Orgeron] and the job they did to recruit the players they recruited, knowing they couldn't play for a conference championship, knowing they couldn't go to a bowl game. But now those kids are here and now it's like, hey, we're finally free and we can do this."

Among the frustrations for those associated with USC in recent years has been the correct hypothesis that the Trojans have more talent than their opponents. USC has produced two first-round picks in two of the past four NFL drafts. Last month at Pac-12 media days, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham echoed many in saying, "Instead of 85 five-star guys, they have 65 five-star guys."

But it takes more than star power to win titles. It takes full-throttle competition, something Trojans alumni often remind the current squad. When ex-players such as Will Poole, Omar Nazel and Darnell Bing show up, they don't often recount their championship conquests.

"They talk to us about how all they did was compete in practice," said Adoree' Jackson, USC's sophomore cornerback/receiver/returner extraordinaire. "They might say, 'Boy, you got it easy these days.' It's like when older people talk to you, like, 'Back in my day ...'

"We're reminded about it a lot. You always wonder if we can simulate that."

They may never duplicate the Pete Carroll-produced talent shows that used to fill USC's practice fields with Hollywood A-listers, hip-hop stars and anyone else trying to get a glimpse of the action. Carroll's teams delivered spectacular Saturday performances because of the way they worked during those must-see midweek matinees.

"Tuesday would be harder than Saturday," said Sarkisian, a USC assistant from 2001 to '03 and again from 2005 to '08. "When you had to block Brian Cushing or Rey Maualuga in practice, that really was tougher than the game."

Adoree' Jackson says former players often remind the current Trojans about the program's competitive past. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

NCAA sanctions changed all that. USC no longer had the bodies to practice like it used to, and it showed on game day.

Although USC endured some surprising losses under Carroll, the frequency of those setbacks increased in recent years.

"When you don't have numbers, you're practicing against -- and we love them to death -- but the walk-on-type bodies or the underdeveloped bodies," wide receivers coach Tee Martin said. "You rarely redshirt guys and develop them because they have to come in and play for you. When you start to get numbers back and start to get depth back, the No. 1 thing is you get more competition at the position. The second thing you get is practice reps against better quality players that ultimately make your team better.

"We're starting to see the light a little bit."

The Trojans are regenerating their roster. Kessler, who led the nation with 39 touchdown passes last season, will operate behind a line with four returning starters, and he'll have abundant options at wide receiver. The defense features playmakers such as Jackson and linebacker/safety Su'a Cravens, as well as multiyear starters such as linebacker Anthony Sarao and cornerback Kevon Seymour.

The most significant developments should come in the reserve ranks. USC integrates the nation's No. 3 recruiting class, according to ESPN RecruitingNation, and while coaches are anxious to see where the newcomers fit, they're not quite as desperate to use them.

"You still have a little bit of the have-to, but for the most part it's want-to," Sarkisian said. "It's who fits in where, when, how. The players that are coming into the program, they're not the saviors any more."

Some freshmen could play major roles, as Jackson, wideout JuJu Smith and offensive linemen Toa Lobendahn and Viane Talamaivao did in 2014. USC landed the nation's top cornerback in Iman Marshall and top running back in Ronald Jones II.

But more newcomers will boost the special teams units, or give starters or backups a much-needed breather. Sarkisian expects the defense to attack more and employ more man coverage and larger rotations so players won't have to worry as much about saving themselves. He considered Trojans standout Leonard Williams the nation's best defensive lineman last season, but Williams wore down, logging 85 plays per game.

"We need to do a better job of rolling people," defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox said. "With the tempo offenses, it's important that you substitute. Certain positions have more bodies than others. I don't think any coach ever feels great about their depth."

Steve Sarkisian will have more scholarship players available this season. Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire

Wilcox and the other coaches feel better than they did last season. They don't have quite as many players as they'd like to bubble-wrap this season, but there are a few. It's probably a good thing that Kessler, Cravens and center Max Tuerk aren't sharing an apartment again this season, as a flu outbreak could have done some significant damage.

Cravens led the team with 17 tackles for loss, and his versatility to play multiple positions on both sides of the field will prevent USC from overusing its nickel package. Tuerk, meanwhile, is a three-year starter (at four different positions) and the player USC can least afford to lose, according to offensive coordinator Clay Helton.

But Helton adds, "We will never use the numbers as an excuse. Never."

More than anyone, USC's veterans understand the numbers -- how the program hasn't quite caught up, but they can't get caught up in it, either.

"There's still lasting effects, it has been difficult," Kessler said. "Some of the older guys who have been here for three or four years are excited to get back to almost full strength and be sanction-free in a way.

"Show what USC can really do."

The work begins on the new practice fields, as the Trojans try to recapture their old edge.

"There's still a step to get there," Jackson said. "It's still a stepping-stone we can take to be similar to those teams, but never be that team.

"We have to be our own team and bring our own legacy."