At 17 years old, Ethan "Boobie" Feaster has already memorized USC's playbook, taken a tunnel screen to the house during a preseason scrimmage at the Coliseum and earned a spot in the Trojans' receiver rotation. On Saturday, Aug. 29, when No. 14 USC hosts San José State at noon, the freshman will become the youngest player in school history to suit up, dating back to when the university began recording birth dates.

Feaster can't talk to reporters yet. USC policy bars freshmen from media interviews until they appear in a game.

So the picture of who he is comes from the people who built him. Junior receiver Terrell Anderson, a transfer from NC State who posted 39 catches for 629 yards and five touchdowns last season, told the Los Angeles Times that Feaster was game-ready from the moment he arrived. Anderson predicted the 17-year-old will be a freshman All-American.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound wideout reclassified from the Class of 2027 to the Class of 2026 after his sophomore year at DeSoto High School in Texas, where he won two state championships in three seasons and earned MaxPreps All-American honors each year. As a junior, he hauled in 69 catches for 1,264 yards and 15 touchdowns. ESPN ranked him the 28th-best prospect in the nation; 247Sports slotted him as the No. 4 receiver in his class.

His nickname nods to Boobie Miles, the running back from "Friday Night Lights." The Texas football roots run deep. His father, Lee Feaster, is a football coach who studied game film with his son from a young age. At 8, Boobie wrote his goals on his bathroom mirror at his dad's suggestion. At 9, he taped a football poster to the ceiling above his bed so it would be the first and last thing he saw each day.

By seventh grade, Feaster was training with personal receivers coach David Robinson of D-Rob Sports & Fitness Training. By eighth grade, Robinson had him working alongside former NFL receivers including Dez Bryant. DeSoto receivers coach Kerry Sweeney met Feaster in seventh grade and quizzed the barely 12-year-old on the difference between cover-2 and cover-3 defenses.

He answered correctly.

Because Feaster reclassified, he couldn't enroll early like most freshmen. USC bridged the gap with a workout plan, three campus visits, four practices and position meetings via Zoom with receivers coach Dennis Simmons. At home in Texas, Feaster drilled flashcards with Robinson and made his father line up in the street to walk through plays and alignments.

"Oh, he knew the playbook … He knew it before he got there," Lee Feaster said.

Head coach Lincoln Riley, entering his fifth year at USC, praised Feaster's maturity after the freshman pushed through a soft-tissue injury early in camp. Riley told the New York Post on Aug. 19 that Feaster has shown "the ability to make some explosive plays" but added that "it will be a battle of consistency for him."

Feaster's readiness matters now. The status of No. 1 receiver Tanook Hines remained unclear as of Sunday, Aug. 23, raising the likelihood that freshmen will need to contribute immediately against the Spartans. Feaster has already expanded his own role, learning the outside receiver spot after initially working in the slot.

USC opens as a 38.5-point favorite. The game airs at noon Pacific on NBC and Peacock.