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Hints of Amon-Ra St. Brown. Not wildly athletic, but a likely starter at slot or Z. A two-year starter at USC, Lemon was primarily an inside receiver (75. 6 percent of career snaps aligned in the slot) in head coach Lincoln Riley’s RPO spread scheme. He led the Trojans in receiving each of the past two seasons, including an All-America 2025 campaign that won him the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top wide receiver (first USC player to win the award since Marqise Lee in 2012). Lemon, who has Hawaiian ancestry, was named the 2025 Polynesian Player of the Year. Despite lacking top-tier physical traits, Lemon provided multiple examples each game in which his quarterback made a “my guy is better than your guy” throw for Lemon to go get. More often than not, Lemon made the QB right. With his competitive urgency, he doesn’t let the ball hit the ground (2. 8 percent career drop rate) and rarely gets tackled where he makes a catch (he produced hidden yards all over his college tape). Lemon doesn’t wow with his size or athletic profile, but he is a smooth, manipulative route runner and catches everything thrown his way. Similar in ways to fellow former Trojans receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, he already plays like a pro and projects as an NFL starter (Z or slot). Advertisement Tap any column header to see its definition. Note: Combine:  Position drills only (choice). Advertisement Tap any column header to see its definition. Makai (muh-KAI) Lemon, who has an older sister (Aliyah), was born and raised in the Los Angeles area by his parents (Michael and Brandy). His father played running back at La Mirada High and rushed for 2, 812 yards and 34 touchdowns as a junior in 1999, making him one of the top recruits on the West Coast. However, he shattered his right leg (tibia and fibula) and required the insertion of a metal rod and screws. Bigger programs backed off, but UNLV didn’t, and Michael signed as part of former head coach John Robinson’s 2001 class. Makai’s uncle (Tim Lemon) was a second-round pick (No. 55) in the 1998 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. After six years of minor league baseball, Tim played wide receiver at Colorado in 2005. Another uncle (Jerry Lemon) was an All-WAC defensive tackle at Fresno State in 1998. Makai’s great uncle (Chet Lemon) was an All-Star outfielder for the Chicago White Sox (1975-81) and Detroit Tigers (1982-90).   Growing up in an athletic family, Makai competed in sports, including baseball, football and even skateboarding, from an early age. He started in pee-wee before rec league, and he began catching passes from quarterback Malachi Nelson, his future high school and college teammate. Lemon originally attended La Mirada High School, where he was an immediate star as a two-way freshman. He caught 57 passes for 784 yards and five touchdowns in 2019, adding two rushing scores. Primarily a wide receiver growing up, Lemon added cornerback duties as a freshman in high school and posted 25 tackles, four interceptions and a forced fumble. Midway through his freshman year, he transferred to Los Alamitos High School (February 2020), joining Nelson (Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles was the backup). As a sophomore, Lemon recorded 43 catches for 756 yards and nine touchdowns in an abbreviated season played in the spring of 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also had 15 tackles and four interceptions. As a junior, Lemon helped Los Alamitos to a 9-2 finish and was named first-team all-state and an All-American. He caught 65 passes for 1, 062 yards and 15 touchdowns, plus posted 28 tackles and four interceptions. As a senior, Lemon again earned first-team all-state honors, as he helped lead Los Alamitos to the 2022 league championship. Despite missing some time with an ankle injury, he was an Under Armour All-American and finished his final season with 69 receptions for 1, 044 yards and 12 touchdowns, adding 12 tackles and one interception. Lemon also played club football for Line Six in Southern California. A four-star recruit, Lemon was the seventh-ranked wide receiver in the 2023 class and the No. 4 recruit in California. He was the No. 42 recruit nationally. Early in his freshman season, in September 2019, Lemon received his first scholarship offer from Colorado. Soon after, he added offers from Arizona State, Oregon State and USC, his “dream school. ” During his sophomore year, Lemon received scholarships from more than a dozen top programs, including Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas. Given Lincoln Riley’s offensive success and ability to develop NFL receivers, Lemon committed to Oklahoma in August 2021. However, when Riley left to take the head coach job at USC in November 2021, Lemon decommitted from Oklahoma and flipped to USC, his favorite school since he was a kid (Lemon: “This is home. ”). He was the fourth-ranked recruit in Riley’s 2023 class (and the No. 2 receiver behind Zachariah Branch). Lemon also saw playing time at cornerback (17 snaps across two games) during his freshman season.   He is majoring in communications. He elected to skip the Trojans’ bowl game and his senior season to enter the NFL Draft. Advertisement Written by Dane Brugler; designed and produced by Junghye Kim, Thomas Oide and Yuriko Schumacher; illustrations by Mojo Wang; edited by Chris Burke and Skye Gould; art direction by Dan Goldfarb and Will Tullos; additional development by Elijah Soria, Laura Pelton, Matt Myers and Oliver Viehweger; additional production by Dan Goldfarb, Kelsea Petersen, Demetrius Robinson and Drew Jordan; additional editing by Ken Bradley, Adam Coleman, Alison Cotsonika, David De Chant, Jimmy Durkin, Gary Gramling, Adam Hirshfield, Cristina Ledra, Dave Niinemets, Mike Sansone, Dan Steinberg and Josiah Turner. Sources: Select data from footballreference. com and Pro Football Focus.