USC's spring game Saturday was led by its retooled, refashioned defense as the Trojans notched four interceptions and a fumble while putting forth a strong first public performance under the new defensive staff.
Afterward, head coach Lincoln Riley talked about the defense's progress, the play of the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, offensive line and the overall vibe of the team that has him so encouraged.
"The thing I'm most excited about is the vibe of this team. I really like the team, I really like coaching the team, I like the way they interact with each other, I like the way they compete with each other," Riley said. "I guess the future and all this what happens here in the next eight, nine months will determine if we say it's positive or not, but it feels different. This team feels a little different than any of the teams that we've had right now at this point. I'm excited about that."
Watch Riley's full press conference from Saturday and scroll down for a complete transcript of his comments.
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Lincoln Riley transcript ...
Opening comments:
"All right, third spring in the books, hard to believe. Fun day. A lot of great competition out there today. I thought that defensively, I think you saw some flashes of what we’ve been seeing on the practice field. Defense obviously did a great job creating the turnovers, that was probably the story of the day, the defensive making the offense pay for their mistakes. There’s a lot of really good individual plays out there, a lot of players on both sides of the ball that we’re really excited about. Went a little bit different with this format today than we have done in the past. We went a little bit of thud today, which I know we haven’t done that in the past much in the spring game, but it felt like just with our numbers at some of the positions that it was the right thing to do to get a good mix of that. We’ve had quite a bit of live already in this spring so we felt like we were in a good point and the coaching staff was pretty unanimous on that. So I thought the guys handled it well. I think. It’s truly been I think a very productive spring. I’d say just the growth on all sides, kind of evenly across the board, you really feel that right now. And I think today was a little bit of a representation on that. You saw some really good moments from both sides, you saw potential on both sides and obviously as those guys that played together, as get some of these guys back here for summer and obviously for fall camp, excited about where we can go."
How does today reflect the identity you want to see from the defense?
"Guys did a nice job with it. I thought the coaches and players both handled it well. Good defenses make things tough on offenses, good defenses prey on offensive mistakes and they did that. You take the, I think, four interceptions, and three of them were not honestly horrible decisions. It was a couple of bad throws, a couple of just competitive plays, but that’s what happens. Average defenses maybe only get two of those and you gotta take advantage of it and our guys obviously did a tremendous job with that today. So it’s been fun to see the progression there. Excited about what we’re doing at all three levels and obviously very excited about the way these guys are being developed right now."
How do you feel about the running back position?
"We’re going to be just fine there, that’s going to be a good room. Excited, I think Woody’s come in and been a good leader and a great example for the room. We didn’t play him a ton today, but he’s played a lot of ball, but he’s been really good for us this spring. I’ve talked previous about Quinten, I think Quinten’s going to be a really big part of what we do. I really do. I think he had one carry today and he pops it. I tell you, he pops one every day. So he’s going to be a really good player and the two young guys, Bryan, he’s certainly come along, you saw a couple of touchdowns out of him today, AP ran the ball well, that’s a nice room right there. We feel like we can play with all four guys, which I don’t know if we felt like that at this point, this early, we’ve got some more size in that room as a whole, which has been a big emphasis point and as you saw today, all four certainly capable of producing."
How did you assess Jayden Maiava today and the way he's progressed this spring?
"Yeah, he’s done good. Kind of like a lot of the new guys, he came out of the blocks really strong, had a little bit of a lull in the middle of it and I thought finished the spring really strong. I thought he did a good job today. Threw some good balls, I thought he settled in a little bit, the interception wasn’t really a bad decision, it just was the wrong kind of throw in that moment and DeCarlos made a great play on it. But he’s getting better, it’s just a climb for him right now. He’s a hard worker, he’s a talented kid, he gets every day, you can just see the wires connecting a little bit more and we’re excited about the room. Miller’s had a great spring. Miller, I thought the first couple of practices, were just not quite his best, they weren’t bad, they weren’t his best and after that, he was really lights out the entire spring, just steady, really good decisions so I mean ,he’s played as a high level and then you saw Jake come in and do some really nice things today too, so we like all three of those guys."
What did the secondary show you today?
"That’s just, to me, another example of the development. It’s plays that good defenses and good secondary players make and we made most of them. A little tough to tell on the tackling at times when it’s thud, but for the most part, it felt like we tackled well on the field, we made plays on the ball, we didn’t really bust much really the entire day. So it’s a well-coached group. You got two of the best guys in the business that are coaching those guys, and when you have that, you see the results of it."
What did Kameryn Fountain, Elijah Newby and the young defensive guys?
"Yeah, this was great for them. You can’t replicate this for these kids. You’re playing in the Coliseum for the first time, you’re playing, what kind of feels like a college football game for the first time so a lot of it for them is kind of just getting that first one out of the way a little bit. You could tell those kids were kind of trying to find their footing and settling in and all of them showed up and made some plays at the end of it. So yeah, I mean, those guys are going to get better and better. It’s going to be fun to see their development now that spring is done and they actually have a concept of what they need to be working on, like spring reveals so much for these guys. They can go into summer and train at a different level, study film at a different level, especially time that they put in on their own, they can be so much more productive because they actually kind of know what they need to know. At the beginning, they don’t have a clue, so it’s – it’ll be fun to see those guys progress because there’s a lot of physical ability with that young group."
What does Elijah Paige bring to the offense that is helping the OL?
"Yeah, we're excited about Elijah. He played really well in the bowl game. We've talked a lot about his progression through the year last year being on scout team. He handled it awesome, he really grew. So now it's kind of that next step for him of becoming a truly consistent and dominant player, which he has the ability to do. He's had a good spring. Really, that entire first group, we've had a lot of cohesion this spring. We've been able to rotate a few guys in and out of it, but it's been pretty steady. Both Elijah and Murph at right tackle have had outstanding springs. We feel really good about those two and the way they've progressed. Jonah, like I told you the other day, he's taken to center even a little faster than I thought he would. He's been tremendous, and then you've got Pregnon, you've got Alani, you've got Amos, that's a nice group and obviously excited to get Gino back.
"So yeah, we like where we're headed there. I do think we're going to have the ability, it feels like right now, to move more people off of the ball than maybe we have had in the first two years. We've got a little bit more mass, a little bit more kind of girth with us. We're starting to look more like you feel like the O-line at USC ought to look like. So I think that's very exciting."
What did the young receivers show you?
"Yeah, they're doing well, I think all those guys, building on how they played in the bowl game. Not just getting their opportunities, but the quarterback position is probably going to be played a little bit differently. I know we talked a lot about it after the bowl game -- it's a little bit more traditional. And I think at times it can be a good thing for some of these receivers in terms of getting in a rhythm and just letting these guys make plays. And the quarterbacks we have in the room, that's more of their style. When you've got playmakers like those guys, it's awesome, you're excited about it, they're excited about it. We have some weapons in that room that we feel like are going to give us an advantage every time we step on the field next year."
What are the biggest boxes you feel you've checked this spring and then what are the biggest unchecked boxes?
"You said checked box, it's always evolving. I think the biggest thing that, the thing I'm most excited about is the vibe of this team. I really like the team, I really like coaching the team, I like the way they interact with each other, I like the way they compete with each other. Just, I guess the future and all this what happens here in the next eight, nine months will determine if we say it's positive or not, but it feels different. This team feels a little different than any of the teams that we've had right now at this point. I'm excited about that.
"Obviously, the defensive install was a huge part of this spring, and really everything we've done going back to the body weights, the scheduling, everything we've done is to make that go as smooth as it possibly can, and I think that's gone well. Yeah, we're looking to create competition and create depth at all these spots. I think the majority of spots that's happening right now."
How did you assess Miller Moss today and do you expect to continue a QB competition into the fall?
"He made one bad decision today, and the one play, I mean, he threw a good ball and it's part of playing football. So no, shoot, he'll probably grade out pretty darn high for the day. We don't want the one bad one, but when you play enough snaps it's going to happen from time to time. It's good for him to feel a little bit of both. One of the things I was most proud of in the bowl game when he threw the pick, we came back and he was lights out after that. And so, it's just part of playing the position. But he's been awesome. We're going to go back and certainly evaluate the whole thing. He's certainly ahead right now. There's no -- there's not a question about that. Now, Jayden is improving rapidly as he learns it and I think is going to continue to provide great competition in the room. I've been really pleased with the way Jake has handled the snaps that we've given him. We're in a position right now where we don't have to decide a starter, but if we played today it would certainly be Miller. Obviously, that's no surprise with the number of snaps he's had in this system. All those guys are going to continue to evolve as we grade spring, as we go through summer, as we get into fall camp -- guys aren't going to be the same players as they were right now today. So as that happens, we'll certainly lean in on the right guy and we've got several guys in the room that we feel can do it."
