USC coach Lincoln Riley: “We’re excited to see where we go defensively”

As Lincoln Riley walked onto the practice field last Sunday at the start of his second spring as USC football coach, the task before him felt a little less daunting than it had a year ago.

The foundation of the program has already been laid, the core beliefs have already been established, the processes have been put in place. There were fewer questions to answer, fewer details to clarify.

“They feel like we’re building on something now, rather than just starting something,” Riley said Tuesday. “Now is the time to really start building. And I think our guys feel it. I think there’s definitely a lot less new, but at the same time We got the guys to understand that what was acceptable 12 months ago is not necessarily acceptable now.”

Nowhere is that truer for USC in the early spring than for Defense, where you only have to go back two months to understand how unacceptable that seems.

USC’s disastrous loss in the Cotton Bowl in January certainly raised a lot of questions about the direction of its defense and the future of coordinator Alex Grinch. While Grinch has been retained, the rest of this underperforming defense already looks very different.

Seven newcomers and newcomers along the defensive front. Five more were added to the secondary level. And there will certainly be more to come in the summer.

“What was sometimes the answer last year may not necessarily be the same answer this year,” Riley said when asked about the defense. “Those things will evolve and change, especially as those rosters change. But two days later we got a really good look at these guys and I’ll say that. We are excited to see where we go defensively.”

Reporters and fans won’t get an in-depth look at the defense until the April 15 USC spring game. But Riley on Tuesday gave an idea of ​​where things stand. He pointed to strength and weight gains in the second round, which he said were not physical enough last season, and reiterated that there will be several new starters along the defensive front.

Riley said there’s finally some depth in the linebacker. New linebacker Mason Cobb made a particularly strong early impression, emerging as the locker room voice leader, much like fellow linebacker Shane Lee did last spring.

“We are very excited about some of the talent that we brought in and some of the talent that was on that developed roster,” said Riley. “We expect to be a very high-level defense here at USC. There’s no reason in the world why we can’t and why we won’t be. And we expect that to happen soon.”

Nelson is coming

It wasn’t exactly an ideal start at USC for five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson, who underwent shoulder surgery in late December, days before coming to campus.

This plan has been coordinated with the USC. But that didn’t leave Nelson much time to acclimate his arm for spring. He didn’t start throwing until Sunday, the first day of USC’s spring training.

“For a QB, it’s like a golfer playing a tournament for three months without practicing or hitting balls,” said Riley. “He did well in the first few days. He makes some plays that show his skill and there are certainly a lot of mistakes. We can learn something from every play. But he seems to be tackling it and moving on quickly.”

Nelson should have plenty of time to get up. With the defending Heisman winner ahead on the depth chart, there’s no reason to rush Nelson’s development. Even behind Caleb Williams, USC already has a capable backup in Miller Moss.

Having these experienced passers around Nelson was a huge plus, Riley said.

The freshman is still not exempt from full contact, but quarterbacks don’t make contact in the spring anyway. In addition, Riley said there are “not too many restrictions” on Nelson right now.

“We have to be careful with him in the lineup,” Riley said, “but we’ll be able to do most things, which is obviously key to his development.”

nobility

USC hoped that some rest and rehabilitation would be enough to allow Eric Gentry’s injured ankle to fully recover. But as the weeks progressed in this off-season, that progression never quite materialized.

Finally, Gentry decided to have ankle surgery. The procedure will take him the rest of the spring.

“After that he will be back very, very soon,” said the coach. “And he probably would have missed the bouncing ball regardless of when he had surgery.”