Days Before Training Camp, Lincoln Riley’s USC Faces Legal Turmoil as DJ Wingfield Files $210,000 Lawsuit

DJ Wingfield transferred to USC earlier this year to play a final year of college football. Initially, it was thought that Wingfield would be given a waiver based on the fact that he played one year for a non-NCAA program, at El Camino Junior College, before transferring to New Mexico and eventually to Purdue.

So far, the waiver hasn’t been approved, and Wingfield has now resorted to legal means to secure it. The Trojans’ offensive lineman has hired attorney Darren Heitner and is suing the NCAA for $210,000, the amount he alleges he would have earned if he had played for USC. On3’s Pete Nakos reported the news on X on Monday.

“USC OL DJ Wingfield has officially filed a lawsuit against the NCAA. Complaint states he stands to make roughly $210k to play this season for the Trojans,” Wrote Nakos on his X account

USC OL DJ Wingfield has officially filed a lawsuit against the NCAA. Complaint states he stands to make roughly $210k to play this season for the Trojans. https://t.co/R8REbNUJ1y

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) July 28, 2025

Wingfield had initially declared for the 2025 NFL Draft before entering the transfer portal and joining the USC Trojans.

“Really impressive, really impressive,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said of DJ Wingfield after he transferred. “We obviously thought enough of him to sign him. He’s probably a little bit better than I thought he was, and I thought he was pretty good.”

“He’s one of those guys, you plug him in there and even at the beginning of spring it looks like he’s been with us forever. If you came here and watched us, you wouldn’t know that he’s just getting going with us and in our system.”

Lincoln Riley expresses confidence in quarterback Jayden Maiava

Last week, during the Big Ten media days, Lincoln Riley expressed confidence in starting quarterback Jayden Maiava. The Trojans are going into 2025 with a new starter, after the Miller Moss experiment failed last year. Riley seems confident that things will work out this time around:

“His arm talent and his decisiveness in which he plays and how he sees things is really unique and has a chance to be really special,” Riley stated on Maiava’s talent at quarterback.

Maiava did start four games last year, after Moss lost the starting job. In those games, he recorded 1201 passing yards, with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. His QBR was 72.3. He’s also an experienced starter, having started 11 games in 2023 for UNLV.