The countdown to USC’s 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign six days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. Today, we look at former USC wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.
Position: Wide receiver
Years played at USC: 2016-2019
Career highlights: After mostly playing on special teams for his first two seasons at USC, Pittman broke out towards the end of his sophomore year in 2017. In USC’s Pac-12 Championship Game victory over Stanford, he led the Trojans with seven catches for 146 yards and a touchdown. The following year, he finished the season with 41 receptions for 758 yards and six scores.
Returning for his senior season in 2019, Pittman established himself as one of the best receivers in all of college football. On the year, he caught 101 passes for 1,275 yards and 11 touchdowns. Pittman was named a second-team All-American, was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, and won the Pop Warner Award, presented to a college football senior who made a significant impact both on and off the field.
After USC: The Indianapolis Colts selected Pittman in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. After a modest rookie season, Pittman has emerged as one of the better young wide receivers in the league over the past four years. He led Indianapolis in receiving in three of those four campaigns, going over 1,000 yards in both 2021 and 2023.
Perhaps the most impressive part of Pittman’s NFL career so far is that he has consistently produced despite playing with a revolving door of subpar quarterbacks. Between washed up free agent signings Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, and Joe Flacco, journeyman backups Gardner Minshew, Carson Wentz, and a massive draft bust in Anthony Richardson Sr., Pittman has not exactly had elite signal callers throwing him the ball. This year, the Colts will enter the season with Richardson and Daniel Jones as their top two QBs, which does not exactly inspire a whole lot of confidence in the position.
