Growing up an Irish Catholic, Notre Dame had always been “in the blood” of Killian O’Connor.
Ever since he was a kid, he was a proud supporter of the Fighting Irish. Even with those ties, he decided he couldn’t let the deep-rooted rivalry stop him from playing at the highest level. He was going to walk-on at the University of Southern California.
After going into his senior year of high school in 2021 at Santa Margarita Catholic High School with no Division I offers, O’Connor decided to commit himself to his dream, even without the promise of a roster spot. The odds were not in his favor. Even O’Connor will tell you he was not the most physically impressive lineman.
“I knew I was undersized for a lot of schools and [I was] short,” O’Connor said.
Still,he decided to take a chance and walk-on at USC due in large part to the coaches and support around him, including his offensive line coach Tim Holt. To O’Conner, the choice was pretty straight forward.
“Being only about an hour away from ‘SC, it was kind of a no-brainer,” O’Connor said. “My parents have been able to come to all the games, and I absolutely wouldn’t trade that.”
After arriving on campus, it was immediately apparent to O’Connor that the road to scholarship was not going to be a cakewalk. Freshmen rarely get playing time, even in practice, and O’Connor knew he was going to have to do everything to prove he belonged on the squad.
O’Connor said he “knew he could play” at USC, and he was going to put in all the effort to prove his worth to the Trojans. Whether it was watching film or doing more reps, he took the extra steps to stand out to the coaches. His dream was only going to be possible if he “put himself in a position to play,” so that’s exactly what he did.
This work wasn’t easy, but O’Connor found one thing kept him going: everyone who came before him.
“I always try to think about who I’m doing this for, who’s sacrificed,” O’Connor said. “My parents and so many different people have sacrificed so much for me to be in this position. Every day, I try to prove to them that I want to go put a good product on the field.”
Eventually, all this hard work paid off. O’Connor would have to wait until the following year for his turn to see any substantial minutes on the field. The first game he played was against San Jose State. When called into the game, he had no warning.
“If someone goes down and you’re up, it’s one of those things where you gotta prepare like you are playing,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor made his impact on the field and ended up playing in six more games that season and nine games the next, all the while without a scholarship.
That all changed when, back in February, head coach Lincoln Riley finally let O’Connor know he was going to be the newest player on scholarship. In a now-viral social media video, Riley announced O’Connor was going on scholarship and everyone on the football team proceeded to mob him.
All the hard work, the long hours, the risks taken just to get to this point in his career, paid off. He had reached his goal: he had a scholarship.
“It was definitely surreal,” said O’Connor. “It didn’t even set in until a few hours after because I was just still in shock.”
Now, O’Connor is no longer committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He said all of those allegiances went “out the window” when he joined the Trojans and he is now “diehard Cardinal and Gold.” The team he grew up rooting against offered him a scholarship and, while his Irish roots may course through his blood, it is safe to say O’Conner has found another family here at USC.