LOS ANGELES — USC unofficially kickstarted a new season when it opened spring practice on Tuesday afternoon. The hype and star power from last season are gone, and now new faces will have to prove themselves after the Trojans failed to live up to expectations in 2023.
Here are some thoughts from USC’s first practice and other offseason developments:
1. In the past two years, when the Trojans finished stretching, the offense and defense split into their position groups on different parts of two practice fields. When that happened, coach Lincoln Riley typically spent time with the quarterbacks and skill players.
But when the offense and defense split on Tuesday, Riley was standing next to defensive analyst Taylor Mays, watching the defensive backs go through their drills. A few minutes later, he walked over to Shaun Nua’s drills with the defensive ends.
Riley confirmed on Tuesday that this, along with him handing off quarterbacks coach duties to Luke Huard, is part of an effort to take a more comprehensive approach to coaching this team.
The decision to name Huard the quarterbacks coach might not seem significant to some because Riley will still have a major say in that position and the entire offense, but he is typically so hands-on that it was eye-opening to see him spend time away from it on Tuesday.
Riley had conversations about making this move with Huard last season but didn’t feel the timing was right. Huard now has two years in the system and is more familiar with how Riley wants things done.
Lincoln Riley watches USC DBs with analyst Taylor Mays. (Antonio Morales / The Athletic)
“It obviously gives me a chance to bounce around and do a lot of things,” Riley said. “I’ll still be very, very involved with the quarterbacks. I’m certainly not leaving it by any stretch, but there are times where I want to be in the O-line meeting. There are times when I want to be in the defensive meetings. I haven’t missed a defensive install this spring. To be able to bounce around but still be present there was ideal. Luke’s got the great skill set for it, and so far the guys have taken to it very well.”
2. Riley knew at some point that he’d probably want to have a quarterbacks coach, but he laughed and did admit it was tough handing that duty off.
“Yeah, listen when you’ve done something for 20 straight years, it’s a little strange,” he said. “But I’ve enjoyed it. I have. I feel like it’s allowed me to be more present in other areas of the program but still not leaving anything in terms of still having a role offensively and I want to do my part to help us win.”
Riley has taken plenty of criticism over the years for being too focused on offense and not the other phases (defense and special teams) or aspects (clock management) of the game. Though it would be a shock to see Riley relinquish play-calling duties, this move, as he said, will allow him to be present in some other areas.
3. It’s a good move for Huard, who arrived at USC two years ago as an offensive analyst. He was promoted to interim inside receivers coach a few months after he joined the program under rather unfortunate circumstances — Dave Nichol’s’ death — and the interim tag was removed after the 2022 season.
With Riley running the program, Huard will always have talented quarterbacks to work with.
4. USC released its spring roster Monday night. The most notable absence was corner Ceyair Wright, who started 11 games in 2022 and was an opening-day starter in the secondary in 2023.
Wright’s absence was more of a confirmation than a surprise. He stepped away from the program for the last few games of the 2023 season, didn’t return for the bowl game when depth was very thin at the position and then the coaching staff added five corners through the portal and high school recruiting.
Riley did offer plenty of praise for Wright’s development over the past two years, but for whatever reasons, it never worked out and Wright ended up losing his starting job at different points of each season.
It’s unclear if Wright will continue to play football. His acting career has been well-documented, so we’ll have to see what his future holds.
5. Wright’s departure is yet another blow to USC’s 2021 recruiting class, which ranked seventh nationally and was supposed to spark the program’s resurgence. Defensive lineman Korey Foreman, linebacker Raesjon Davis and Wright were all top-100 national prospects who were supposed to anchor the Trojans defense for the next three to four years.
That never materialized. Foreman struggled to earn a spot in the defensive line rotation and transferred to Fresno State this offseason. Davis didn’t play much until last season and has an outside chance of starting this season, and Wright is no longer with the program.
6. Defensive lineman Stanley Ta’ufo’ou and punter Aadyn Sleep-Dalton were also not on the roster. That leaves USC’s unofficial scholarship count at 80. The staff will have five scholarship spots open for the spring, though there will likely be more because every program will suffer some attrition once the portal re-opens in a few weeks.
7. On “Trojans Live” on Monday night, Riley revealed that Jonah Monheim, who has spent the past three seasons playing tackle, will move to center. Monheim spoke more about the decision on Tuesday.
“Based on my frame and how I’m built, it’s more likely for me to play that in the future than tackle,” he said.
Monheim has practiced at center over the past few seasons but estimates he hasn’t played the position in a game since youth football. There will be adjustments to make — he won’t operate in as much space as he did at tackle, and he’ll have to make protection calls now.
8. Left tackle Elijah Paige was one of several standouts in the Holiday Bowl. On “Trojans Live,” Riley said Paige, then a true freshman, “probably played the best game that a tackle played for us all year.”
There’s a lot of optimism surrounding Paige, who seems likely to start at left tackle this fall.
The Holiday Bowl was the only game he received extended playing time last season, but he stayed engaged while watching the veterans at his position.
“I learned preparation, guys like Jonah and Justin (Dedich), all those older guys, how they prepare for games, how they prepare for practice,” he said. “I came in as a young guy learning everything for them.”
Paige believes he’s better on the mental side of things this year, specifically understanding the playbook and knowing defensive fronts. It took him about half of USC’s 15 spring practices to get adjusted to the speed of the game last year.
The path for playing time this year seems pretty clear.
9. Mason Murphy is the frontrunner, at the moment at least, to start at right tackle. Riley was asked about the depth at the tackle spots.
“The quality is good. The depth is a little of a concern right now,” he said. “There’s certainly the possibility we may look to add somebody there.”
USC doesn’t have a ton of experience other than Paige, who has played in just one game, and Murphy, who has never been a full-time starter. Younger players like Justin Tauanuu and Tobias Raymond will receive the benefit of more reps this spring. The Trojans will experiment with some other options/lineups too.
The staff has brought in transfers at tackle the past two offseasons, so that position seems like it’ll be a target in the post-spring portal window.
10. Several USC players donned new jersey numbers for practice on Tuesday. Seeing a Trojans receiver with Ja’Kobi Lane’s build — he’s 6 foot 4 and 195 pounds — wear the No. 8 jersey conjured up some Dwayne Jarrett flashbacks.
This is not meant to compare the two as players. Jarrett was an All-American who made clutch plays and was a key cog for some of college football’s greatest offenses. There are, however, some physical similarities.
(Top photo: Darren Yamashita / USA Today)
2024-03-20 19:16:44
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