🏈 🔵 Breaking Down My Interview With USC's Lincoln Riley
"You feel the progress. You feel the momentum. You see a lot of the tangible things right now," Riley told me ahead of the Trojans' first season in the Big Ten.
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Breaking Down My Interview With USC’s Lincoln Riley
Hey friends,
When Lincoln Riley took over for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma seven seasons ago, the proven play-caller instantly won 12 games.
From there, Riley was regarded as one of college football’s fastest-rising stars and brightest coaching minds.
With the Sooners, he accumulated three College Football Playoff appearances and a stellar 55-10 record.
Then, USC came calling, and Riley never looked back.
Last week, I sat down with Riley in Southern California to discuss his hopes for year three with the Trojans, the squad’s outlook as a new Big Ten member, and how he overhauled his defensive staff heading into a pivotal campaign.
Despite holding a 19-8 clip at USC, many outsiders and media members have scrutinized Riley’s short tenure on the West Coast.
During my 40-minute conversation with one of the game’s most brilliant offensive gurus, I quickly learned why fans and analysts alike should pump the breaks on any Riley slander entering a “prove it year” in Los Angeles.
Let’s dive into it!
Maintaining Quarterback Whisperer Status
Since Lincoln Riley stepped into his first head coaching job at Oklahoma in 2017, the former Texas Tech gunslinger began to produce top-level passers within his air raid system.
Riley has produced three Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks in just seven years as a head coach, including Baker Mayfield Kyler Murray, and Caleb Williams.
If Riley were a program by himself, he’d have the sixth-most Heisman Trophy awards of all time behind only USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Alabama.
His high-octane, spread system developed during his time as a Mike Leach disciple, where he spent seven years on his staff with Texas Tech from 2003 to 2009 after wrapping up his playing career.
There, Riley watched Leach scout quarterbacks among the likes of Kliff Kingsbury, BJ Symons, and Graham Harrell.
All three quarterbacks mimicked similar playstyles for Leach’s bunch, built on quick-hitting throws over the middle of the field, leading to 1-on-1 receiver isolation.
While recruiting quarterbacks at USC, Riley has mirrored a comparable evaluation approach.
“We've done a good job of sticking to our guns on the way we evaluate guys,” Riley told me. “We've historically not offered a lot of guys. We've really zeroed in on the people that we really believe in, and we have not cast a very wide net. I think we stayed true to that.”
With Caleb Williams’ departure as the latest No. 1 overall draft choice in the NFL ranks, Riley will likely hand over the signal-calling reins to veteran Miller Moss.
The Mission Hills, California native began his career with the Trojans in 2021, a year before Riley took over his rebuilding effort in Southern California.
Although Riley rarely starts quarterbacks that he and his staff didn’t collectively recruit, the veteran play-caller watched Moss dazzle in the Holiday Bowl to wrap up USC’s campaign last fall.
Moss torched Louisville’s second level for 372 yards and six touchdowns by completing nearly 70% of his passing attempts under Riley’s command.
Now, Riley’s a firm believer that if Moss’s playmaking abilities can take over, the Trojans will be well-equipped to score in bunches in their inaugural Big Ten go-around.
“When we watch [quarterback] tape, do we have a real belief that this guy can do that [in our system]? I mean, at the end of the day, you got to really believe that as a coach, and for me, [that if] I’m not pretty excited watching that tape, that's probably telling me something,” Riley said. “… You want to coach people that you're passionate about, just like players [and] recruits out there.”
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Juggling General Manager & Head Coach Roles
As an institutional leader in college football’s NIL space, the head coaching role at USC during Riley’s tenure has changed dramatically from what it used to be.
Instead of his sole responsibilities lying in staff retention, recruiting, scheme implementation, and game planning, Riley has been forced to step into a “general manager role” in addition to his coaching duties.
According to The Athletic, Caleb Williams accumulated “more than $10 million” in NIL deals during his two-year tenure with the Trojans.
Per On3’s NIL database, 10 current USC players have NIL valuations of over $200,000 each.
Inevitably, the lore has impacted USC’s recruiting prowess. In 2023, the Trojans inked the seventh-best recruiting class nationally, including the No. 3 incoming transfer cohort.
Between calling plays and dealing with eager donors, Riley’s learned how to better balance both sides of his differing responsibilities heading into his third year in The Golden State.
“I had to learn how to delegate better. I wasn’t very good at it,” Riley told me. “… I’ve had to learn how to compartmentalize things, [and] be present if I’m dealing with something for a team meeting or something team-wide… And then, I have to switch gears, and go back to something for a donor or booster.”
Part of Riley’s mission toward better-delegating roles within his locker room became evident this offseason after making several prominent assistant coaching alterations.
In relief of long-time defensive signal caller Alex Grinch, Riley poached up-and-coming superstar D’Anton Lynn from UCLA to coordinate the Trojans’ defense at the Big Ten level.
Last year, he elevated the Bruins’ defense from the nation’s No. 87 ranked crew in 2022, to finish the regular season ranked first in fewest rushing yards per game allowed a year later.
Moreover, Riley was able to snag the services of Eric Henderson by way of the Los Angeles Rams and Matt Entz, the former head coach of North Dakota State, to aid the defensive line and linebackers, respectively.
“You got to have a great staff,” Riley told me repeatedly. “You can’t be three places at once. Although, at times, it would be nice…. You have to have people that you can trust.”
Defense Still Wins Championships
When Riley, was hired by USC ahead of the 2022 campaign, he was brought in to return the program’s championship pedigree back to campus.
In year one, Riley won 11 matchups with a Pac-12 Championship and Cotton Bowl appearance.
However, the Trojans allowed at least 28 points in eight matchups and gave up over 30 points in six of those contests.
While USC’s offense flourished once again in 2023, Riley’s group finished the season with a disappointing 8-5 record, including a 5-4 in-conference clip.
The defense ranked in the bottom half of the Pac-12 in nine different statistical categories, including ranking last in stopping the run and plays allowed of at least 20 yards.
More than anyone else, Riley knew it was time for a drastic change.
“Defensively, we just simply weren't progressing the way we needed to, and in these big jobs, momentum is key,” Riley said. “We were never able to quite fully capture that defensively. We had some really good coaches and some phenomenal people here, people that are great friends of ours, but at the same time, there is a responsibility to that.”
Under Riley’s new defensive staff, headlined by Lynn, Henderson, and Entz, the Trojans’ recruiting is on a roll.
Four of USC’s top-five recruiting commitments in the current cycle are defensive prospects, a stark variation in personnel accumulation from the previous staff.
According to The New York Times, USC’s administration agreed to pay newly-hired defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn $2 million annually — a 100% salary increase from the same role he held at UCLA.
Similarly, Matt Entz will be making $900,000 to coach USC’s linebackers, equating to a 125% pay increase from his former role as North Dakota State’s head coach.
“Our board started [its defensive staff search] pretty aggressively,” Riley continued. “We really never had to waver from that. The administration was incredibly supportive, which is very important when you're when you're hiring people… I think these guys were able to see some of the momentum that had been built in this program the last few years and, ultimately, they wanted to come be a part of it, and it wasn't overly difficult.”
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Shoutout to Connor Krause for helping to write this newsletter and putting it together!
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