After USC's Tuesday practice, coach Lincoln Riley revealed that defensive end Anthony Lucas has been lost for the season to a lower-leg injury and that he had a procedure on it earlier in the day.

"We lost Anthony for the season. Anthony had to have a procedure done this morning on his leg so we won't have him anymore this year," Riley said. "You've got the handful of guys that we've been playing with on the edge already that are going to get opportunities and potentially more opportunities, and we'll certainly look at some of the young guys. You know, Kam Fountain, [Lorenzo] Cowan, guys like that that have been working behind the scenes and part of that development that we've been pushing so hard.

"So, I hate it for Anthony because he had really improved, he had a strong impact on our defense, but he's in a good frame of mind with it -- excited to get him back next year and get him rolling and build on all the progress he made. And in the meantime, it's going to create an opportunity for more guys to step up. It's one of those that you hate when you lose a key player, but the positive of this is there's going to be somebody else emerge that maybe wouldn't have had the same type of opportunity. So we're disappointed for Anthony, but excited about [the other guys]."

Riley also emphasized matter-of-factly that Miller Moss is entrenched as USC's starting quarterback and that Riley is very pleased with how Moss has performed.

"Miller is our starter. Miller has played a lot of really good ball. He’s put our team in position to win a lot of games," Riley said. "He, like anybody, some of the things he needs to do better, he owns it. I promise you, he wants it more than anybody with what he puts into it. He’s our leader. He’s our starter. There’s zero question about that."

Watch the full interview below and scroll down for a complete transcript of Riley's comments Tuesday.

What would make this a successful season in your eyes at the end of it?

"I don’t like to get too much into the big picture stuff in the middle, you know, for us right now. It’s about being 1-0 this week. That’s been our message to the team. That’s been our team leaders' message to the rest of our guys as well. That’s where our focus is going to be. You’re kind of in the trenches right now. And you’re not worried about what happened before, you’re not really focused on what happens after. It’s trying to prepare really well this week and go get a win at Maryland."

What has been your assessment of the receiving corps?

"Kind of in the same frame of mind. I thought we did some really good things the other day. I think we’ve played some of our better games as of late, so I think the group has progressed. We still want to continue to get those guys opportunities because we’ve got some really good weapons out there. They’ve all had some really bright moments. They’ve missed a couple that we wish we could have, whether we didn't make the play on the ball or we missed the throw or we didn’t have the protection, we've left a couple out there that we need to go get here in the back half of the year. But I do think we’re improving. I think those guys individually are improving, and I think they’re (can’t hear)."

What is your confidence in Miller Moss moving forward? Is Jayden Maiava pushing him at all?

"Jayden is doing a really good job. I’m very confident if the situation arose that Jayden was going to play that he would play well. But Miller is our starter. Miller has played a lot of really good ball. He’s put our team in position to win a lot of games. He, like anybody, some of the things he needs to do better, he owns it. I promise you, he wants it more than anybody with what he puts into it. He’s our leader. He’s our starter. There’s zero question about that."

What are the things he needs to improve on?

"You know, honestly, the biggest thing is he's just missed a few throws that rarely, rarely, rarely misses. That's really been about it, honestly. His decision-making has been good. He's had one or two loose decisions in the game, which with the number of things we ask our quarterback to do is, you want to get them all but it's still, he's definitely processing at a very high level. I think he's handled a lot of the different situations we've been in because we've been in a lot in a short amount of time, I think he's done a good job handling it. I think the biggest thing is settling in and finishing some of these throws because we've had some stuff there and he's made some great ones, and honestly some of the ones the other day he made some really, really difficult throws, some really difficult throws. So I think settling in and really seeing his accuracy climb here in the back half I think will be very important."

Do you expect Anthony Lucas to play Saturday?

"No, we lost Anthony for the season. Anthony had to have a procedure done this morning on his leg so we won't have him anymore this year."

Who will step into a bigger role there?

"Well, you've got the handful of guys that we've been playing with on the edge already that are going to get opportunities and potentially more opportunities, and we'll certainly look at some of the young guys. You know, Kam Fountain, Cowan, guys like that that have been working behind the scenes and part of that development that we've been pushing so hard. So, I hate it for Anthony because he had really improved, he had a strong impact on our defense, but he's in a good frame of mind with it -- excited to get him back next year and get him rolling and build on all the progress he made. And in the meantime, it's going to create an opportunity for more guys to step up. It's one of those that you hate when you lose a key player, but the positive of this is there's going to be somebody else emerge that maybe wouldn't have had the same type of opportunity. So we're disappointed for Anthony, but excited about [the other guys]."

What was the injury?

"Lower extremity."

You have one of best third-down defenses in the country this year, but it hasn’t translated to fourth down, what stands out?

“Uh, it’s a little hard to group ‘em up. I mean, the ones yes – the ones the other day, we kinda, we kinda played two different strategies. We brought pressure on one, we had a free run right at the quarterback, and we just weren’t able to get him down, and he made kind of a circus play. We weren’t actually in terrible shape in coverage either. Just kind of, one of those things. And the one, I think the biggest deal for us is just continuing to have different ways to affect the passer. That’s vey important. We’ve done, like you said, we’ve been such a good third-down defense, it’s definitely been one of the strengths of our – not just our defense, but our entire team. But when you get those fourth downs like that, where you get the chance to shut the door on somebody, especially two opportunities like that – you got to make. And, uh, so, we gotta be better, we got to continue to affect the passer. And then, when we get some of the opportunities in the back-end, whether it’s to knock a couple of those balls down – Kamari had a chance on the third-down play right before to pick it off. That would’ve been an unbelievable play. But those are some of the ones that we have to make to shut the door and close these teams out.”

What do you learn from other Big Ten road games you carry into Maryland?

“Uh, I think each team learns going on the road, how challenging it is and how thin the margins are on the road. And, you’re gonna, there’s gonna be challenges, you’re gonna have to deal with the crowd. You’re gonna have to, you gotta travel well. You’re going to have tough calls. Like, that’s just all part of playing on the road. So, we’ve played – and we’ve put ourselves in position to win them both. But, again, it all comes down to finishing. That’s the obvious answer. But it’s the truth. So, hopefully we can learn from those experiences, go play a really clean game on the road, go get some momentum, and really be able to sustain it on all three sides.”

What’s the plan to overcome Anthony Lucas with a thin DL room?

“Yeah, I think I just went through the plan, I don’t know if there’s anything else I would add to it. I mean, I think it’s, you rely on the development that’s been going on behind the scene sand the guys that you’ve recruited. And maybe there’s some guys that you thought, well, maybe their role won’t be quite as much this year or maybe they redshirt or whatever that, all of a sudden, they’re going to have that opportunity. And all of us can point to our careers to guys that became phenomenal, cornerstone-type players of a program that, they got their first shot like this. And so, there’s always, anytime you lose a guy, or don’t have a guy available, sure, you’re disappointed. But then there’s always somebody that steps up. It’s like, the mind thinks, oh, well, there’s gonna be a void there, we’re gonna go out there with 10 players. And it’s like, no, somebody else is going to step up and take advantage and they’re gonna be better because of it. So, Henny and Shaun have worked hard to develop those guys, and now they’re gonna get their chance.”