LOS ANGELES -- With the Heisman Trophy favorite returning from a team that won its final nine games, including a memorable Rose Bowl, there should be plenty of buzz around the USC football team this fall. The Trojans will likely begin the year in top 5 of most preseason polls, should be considered the Pac-12 favorite and, as such, a contender for the College Football Playoff.

But that will be the fall. It's still April, and on the West Coast that means college football has to wait its turn before it generates much interest. So while Ohio State had over 80,000 people in attendance for its sold-out spring game on Saturday, fellow blue-blood USC announced merely 14,781 for its own. That's not a knock against USC or its fans, either. To get that many people to pay for a ticket, pay for parking and pay stadium food prices -- $7 lemonade -- for what amounted to a half-speed, situational practice is actually pretty impressive.

USC kept stats to make the day seem more official, but quarterback Sam Darnold's final line -- he completed 4 of 6 pass attempt for 58 yards -- shows how anticlimactic the Trojans' final spring practice was.

Earlier in the week, coach Clay Helton said he would like to be able to a hold more of a game-like conclusion to spring in the future, but there were too many lingering injuries to allow for that this year. So, as USC moves into summer, here are some takeaways from spring practice as a whole.

Young wide receivers show promise

With JuJu Smith-Schuster and Darreus Rogers off to the NFL, gone are 126 catches and 1,610 receiving yards off last year's team. That could seem difficult to replace, but most of any concern related to that void should be gone thanks to an encouraging spring from Michael Pittman Jr., Velus Jones Jr. and Tyler Vaughns. All three had stretches in the spring where they looked like they belong in the starting lineup and each should find meaningful ways to contribute next year. While they're obviously not as experienced as the guys they're vying to replace, offensive coordinator Tee Martin said the overall receiving corps will be more athletic. That's largely because of these three. Jones and Vaughns are both burners -- as shown on Saturday -- while Pittman is an athletic 6-foot-4 target who has drawn praise for his route-running. Deontay Burnett figures to be USC's top receiver, but one of Darnold's strengths in spreading the ball around and he will have the weapons to do that effectively.

Injuries on the offensive line are a concern

The Trojans already knew they would need to re-work the offensive line after tackles Chad Wheeler and Zach Banner exhausted their eligibility and RG Damien Mama declared early for the NFL draft, but with the spring in the rearview, there still seems to be more questions than answers. For the most part, the state of flux has been out of the coaching staff's control thanks to injuries to key players.

The one position that seems to be settled is at left tackle, where Chuma Edoga is entrenched after serving as the primary backup to both Banner and Wheeler last year. Edoga (wrist) didn't appear on Saturday, but that was more of an acknowledgment that another injury on the offensive line would be more than an unwelcome development.

Toa Lobendahn, who was lost for the season in Game 1 last year (knee), did not play this spring, but is expected to be back for fall camp and should end up back in the starting lineup at one of the guard spots. Viane Talamaivao underwent surgery for a torn bicep this spring and should wind up at guard opposite Lobendahn. Nico Falah will likely retain his position at center -- which he inherited after Lobendahn's injury -- but he has been dealing with a back injury all spring that recently had him contemplating a switch to tackle. Chris Brown, as things sit, should be the projected starter at right tackle and is capable of moving inside if needed.

The injury issues prevented what USC hopes will be its starting unit from taking any reps together as a group and casts doubt on its durability in the future.

Darnold is ready to embrace star role

Much like his head coach, it doesn't seem like success has changed Darnold much. His demeanor, at least while dealing with the media, is essentially the same as it was this time a year ago when he seemed destined for a backup role. Read into that how you want, but from here, it gives off the impression that his approach remains the same -- and that's a good thing. There has been the natural growth you would hope for in a quarterback -- he's more vocal with his receivers and has taken on more leadership responsibilities -- and is challenging himself more in practice. By taking more chances, he threw more interceptions this spring than in practices in the past, but it would be foolish to try and use that trend as a way to temper expectations for when they start playing for keeps. With a full offseason to tailor the offense to Darnold's strengths, there is every reason to believe he will be better than the 2016 version, which might have been the best player in college football.