As he does each week during the spring, USC coach Lincoln Riley joined reporters over Zoom on Saturday morning after the Trojans' sixth practice of the month.
He covered a wide range of topics over nearly 25 minutes, praising the improvement of cornerback Ceyair Wright and defensive end Korey Foreman, talking about the early impressions of safeties Zion Branch and Christian Pierce, the overall competition at cornerback and on the offensive line, USC's expanding NIL picture, quarterback recruiting strategies, his involvment on the defensive side this spring and more.
Read the full transcript of Riley's comments below the video:
What is Christian Roland-Wallace's status and how have you seen the cornerback competition play out?"
Christian had a great offseason. He twisted an ankle the first day of practice -- nothing serious but hasn't been able to get back into competitive drills for us yet. Excited to see him. He's a hard worker. He was really impressive in all the offseason drills that we did, the conditioning drills, the strength testing, some of the competitive stuff, some of the on the field work. I mean, you notice him. I noticed him even from the opposite sideline during the game last year. So, excited to see him.
"The corner competition has been good. We've got more bodies, more talent there. Ceyair Wright's been, I would say, one of the -- it's not a surprise -- he's been one of the, to me, breakout players. It sounds weird to 'breakout player' for a guy I think started nine games for us last year. You don't typically say those things together, but his improvement and some of the playmaking he's had, the difference has been as substantial as anybody on our roster through six practices. He had another interception today and he's had multiple her early on, lots of great plays. Play more confident. He's gotten stronger. It's what you hope would happen for a guy who got some phenomenal experience and game reps last year -- have really been pleased with him.
"Domani's been back, been able to take a lot of reps. He's done well. Jacobe Covington, another guy that really came on at the end of last year and has practiced very, very well for us here so far. Fabian Ross has really taken some nice strides, I've been excited to see him. I think he's done some pretty nice things here early on as well. So, it's a good group. Obviously, I'll be excited to get Christian back and get him into the mix, but it would kind of be the theme defensively -- there's more talent, there's more size, there's more strength, there's more competition on the field at every position right now, and corner is no different."
What was your reaction last year the first time you saw Zion Branch in pads on the sideline for games even though he couldn't play?
"Like getting a Christmas present and knowing you can't use it like for a whole year. He fills out the uniform pretty well, and he's such a great kid -- great family, great kid. He checks all the boxes physically. He was one of those guys that last year before he hurt his knee, just like summer workouts, the guys would go out there and throw, you always can tell some of the young guys who are going to have a chance to contribute early because some of the older guys start talking about them -- like right when we get there there's a little bit of a buzz. He had generated that among some of older players, so we were excited obviously last year for the impact he would have made for us. And he's handled the injury really well. He's stayed really positive, he's stayed really engaged, which is tough to do, especially for a young guy. He's been able to do everything this spring but the full contact. He's still able to do 75-80 percent of all that we're doing, which has been great. I know he's dying to get in there in team and do some full contact, but impressive. He's got an impressive size, strength and speed combination. He's a really smart kid. He got a unique perspective last year and it's been cool to see him use it -- he's done a really nice job so far."
What have you early thoughts been on Christian Pierce?
"Yeah, Christian's done well. He's been, of the young guys, I would say, one of the more advanced I would say early on. The thing that stands out about Christian, Christian's physical. He met -- we had inside drill last Thursday, and he and Barlow ended up the way the run played out one on one in the hole and Barlow's a big dude. Darwin's thick, he's gotten stronger, he's played well. And they both met each other and it was like a complete standstill. It was a shot. It was impressive. Darwin runs low behind his pads, a lot of power, and Christian met him and they just stood each other up. Most freshmen safeties, that wouldn't have happened -- they would have gotten knocked over, driven back, ran over. It kind of caught everybody's attention, like, OK. He plays pretty fast, he plays physical, plays fearless for a young guy. He's still learning certainly the defense, which is to be expected, but we've been very pleased with what we've seen from him to this point."
