Jide Abasiri: Pressure Into Purpose
By Julius Johnston, USC Football Communications Student Assistant
9/24/2026
Pressure makes diamonds.
And the story of Trojan defensive tackle Jide Abasiri is no different.
Born to Nigerian immigrants as the youngest of four brothers, Abasiri always felt outside factors pushing him to be great, specifically in the classroom. But the classroom wasn’t the only place where Abasiri felt he could make an impact—the football field also caught his eye.
“I feel like there was a lot of pressure on us to be successful,” he said. “My parents believed the path to success was through education, which is a great mindset. But I wanted to pursue something beyond academics, and for me, that was football.”
After years of trying to convince his parents to let him play football, Abasiri finally received some unexpected help from a coach who, ironically, was repairing his broken iPad. The chance encounter provided the push his father needed to let him play.
“I was super excited to go out there and finally play, almost too excited,” Abasiri said chuckling.
“The first day of practice I put my pads on backwards and even showed up in shoes and sweats.”
He quickly learned that if he wanted to pursue football at the collegiate level, he would have to put in the work to reach that goal, and that meant finding ways to invest in himself.
As a high schooler he took a job at a nearby Culver’s, a fast-food restaurant, earning $8 an hour to afford a $100 membership at the Life Time Fitness around the corner from his house.
“I had to save up for that membership to start investing more into football and my body. That was where I saw myself long term, so I prioritized it,” Abasiri said.
Even as he invested in developing his game on the field, off the field Abasiri felt something was missing. His brothers were deeply focused on their academics and often occupied with their own studies, leaving Abasiri to spend much of his time alone and searching for a place where he belonged.
To fill that void and stay occupied, he turned to anime, which became more than just a television show.
“As a kid I sometimes felt out of place, so it would just be me by myself, Abasiri said. “So, anime is where I attribute all my hard work because the characters in the shows went through similar things where they felt like they didn't belong. They invested in themselves and the people who supported them along the way to succeed.”
The support anime provided Abasiri eventually came full circle. As he grew older, Abasiri began to embody those same qualities as the anime characters, becoming a source of support for others in the way those characters had once been for him.
As a senior in high school, he was named team captain of the football team. This accomplishment for Abasiri gave him a new sense of belonging, one where he no longer felt lost, as he found his place as a leader.
“I became the person that I wanted when I was younger. I would talk to the younger guys and make sure their minds were in the right place. I just wanted to be the person that I wish I had,” Abasiri said proudly.
That leadership combined with his work ethic, size, power and athleticism caught the attention of college coaches across the country, including USC head coach Lincoln Riley.
“He was a really unique and raw prospect coming out of high school. You saw flashes of his versatility where he can play both inside and outside along the defensive line and could provide mismatches for our opponents. We wanted him here,” Riley said with a smirk.
After an unofficial visit to Los Angeles his senior year, Abasiri fell in love with USC and flipped his commitment from Minnesota to the Trojans.
“I actually ended up paying for my own visit to USC because I wasn’t too familiar with the recruiting process. But when I came out here, I ended up falling in love with USC and Los Angeles. It was a risk for sure, but it’s certainly paying off,” Abasiri said.
Since arriving at USC, Abasiri has continued to prove that the risk he took on himself was worth it. Through the first four games of the 2026 season, Abasiri has tallied 11 tackles, including 3.5 for loss of 14 yards (with 1 sack for minus 10 yards) and 2 quarterback hurries.
But Abasiri’s impact at USC extends beyond what shows up in the box score. The same work ethic and leadership that helped him earn an opportunity in Los Angeles have continued to shape his role within the Trojans’ program.
As a junior Abasiri was selected not only as a team captain for the Trojans, but also to represent the USC at Big Ten Media Day, bringing the lessons he learned from the anime characters as a teen into his role as a leader once again.
“It was definitely an honor to be picked to represent the team at Big Ten Media Day. It was a great experience,” Abasiri said.
Alongside him for both milestones was first-year Trojan and Michigan State transfer Alex VanSumeren, someone Abasiri looks up to.
“I have so much respect for the way he approaches everything because I’m kind of a quiet guy on the field. I don’t really do too much talking, so having him here as a leader has been really nice. He’s definitely a dude you’d want to go into war with,” Abasiri said.
That trust extends beyond the teammates lining up beside him to the coaches guiding him, particularly USC Director of Football Sports Performance Trumain Carroll.
There is no denying that Abasiri’s physical makeup plays a significant role in the player he is on the field. Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 280 pounds, the 2025 Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List honoree takes tremendous pride in his work in the weight room, where he spends much of his time with Carroll.
“I’ve always loved lifting weights, even back in high school. To have the technology that we have here at USC pushes me to go even harder. Sometimes I go too hard, which can be negative, and that’s where Coach Tru helps me out a lot,” Abasiri said with a smile.
But Carroll’s greatest influence on Abasiri has reached far beyond the weight room.
“I feel like the biggest impact Coach Tru has had on me is outside the weight room. He questions my decisions and pushes me to be a better man, specifically in how I respond after a loss. So, I think that has definitely impacted me more than anything weight-room-wise,” Abasiri said with gratitude.
Pressure has followed Abasiri throughout his journey, but each time, he has transformed it into purpose. Now, as a junior and team captain for the Trojans, the pressure has taken a new form.
After all, pressure makes diamonds—and Abasiri is still being shaped.
