The news that defensive tackle Bear Alexander plans to redshirt and sit out the rest of the season came less than an hour before USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn met with reporters for his weekly post-practice interview on Wednesday, but Lynn referred all questions about Alexander's situation to head coach Lincoln Riley.

Riley will talk to media Thursday morning on his regularly-scheduled Zoom call at 11 a.m. PT.

"Coach Riley is going to touch on some of the personnel stuff next time he talks to you guys," Lynn said.

Lynn did talk about the remaining depth at defensive tackle and why Gavin Meyer and Nate Clifton had emerged as the starters there -- ahead of Alexander -- in the first place.

"I feel good. We have a good rotation of guys. We feel like that’s one of the strengths of the team, as far as just there's a handful of guys that you can go in there, they can play, they can operate and they know what to do. So we feel really good about the depth," Lynn said.

As for his comments on Meyer and Clifton, one can read between the lines ...

“Just consistency, and just seeing them do it every single day, and just how fast they picked everything up and how fast you saw them grow in the scheme," Lynn said.

Lynn also talked about the Trojans' performance in the 27-24 loss at Michigan, what went wrong on the three explosive runs the Wolverines broke, thoughts on the matchup with Wisconsin this week and more.

Watch the full interview here and scroll down for a complete transcript of Lynn's comments.

How does Bear Alexander's redshirt decision affect the DL?

"Coach Riley is going to touch on some of the personnel stuff next time he talks to you guys."

How do you feel about the depth on the interior of the defensive line?

"I feel good. We have a good rotation of guys. We feel like that’s one of the strengths of the team, as far as just there's a handful of guys that you can go in there, they can play, they can operate and they know what to do. So we feel really good about the depth. "

When did you learn about Bear Alexander redshirting?

"Coach Riley is going to touch on all of that stuff."

What went wrong on the three long runs?

"You know, a combination of things. Starting with me, just from a schematic standpoint, putting them in a better position. From technique and fundamentals, making sure we're doing our job and at the end of the day, critical missed tackles."

How do you balance the evaluation when there were those big mistakes but the rest was good?

"You just have to – you know, I told the guys that it’s easier said than done after a loss, but you have to do the same thing you do after a win. There were a lot of good things in that game that we did. There were some things that we knew we needed to build on that we did. And then there’s a lot of things that we need to improve on from a schematic standpoint, from a technique standpoint, from a fundamental communication standpoint. And we have to take all that and learn from it and grow from it and keep on taking the right direction as a defense, which I still believe that we are."

How have you seen the players respond in practice?

"They've responded well. They took the coaching. They handled the adjustments, and we’ve had a good three days."

What's been the key to unlocking Eric Gentry?

"Eric is a unique player. We've talked about it before, he can play so many spots, he can do so many things. He doesn’t get tired. So he’s kind of a fun piece to move around. He’s out there just having fun and making plays, and it’s just exciting to watch."

What have you found gets the most out of him?

"Eric, he’s a very smart football player. I think something that he’s liked is having a lot of different roles. He’s not just doing one thing. There’s times you’ll see him at Will. There’s times you’ll see him at Sam. There’s times in practice he’s been at Mike. There’s times we’ll actually run our nickel stuff and we’ll keep him in the game. So I think just all the different roles and responsibility he has is exciting for him."

At what point did you realize he could also be a weapon off the edge?

"Very early on, probably after like the second practice. He just does some stuff that you can’t coach, And he makes us a lot better as coaches."

Any guys who haven't played a lot yet that could see a bigger role?

"Bryson Shaw, I think you’ll see him playing some more. And also Zion Branch. They’ve been great in practice, they’ve played some in games. But we’re expecting them to have an increased role. I’m super excited for both of them."

Any new roles Eric Gentry has taken on that he can go further in than you expected?

“Yeah, we still haven’t used him in all the ways that we have in practice. So, there’s still more for us to do with him. And then, as the season goes on, as the package expands, as we self-scout ourselves, I’m sure there’s going to be different ideas that keep on popping up each week.”

Anyone like Gentry you’ve been around as a coach?

“No, no. You could say Kyle Hamilton at times, because, just the size and length, some of the stuff that they do in space. But, you know, Eric’s a unique guy. Can’t quite say I’ve coached a player quite like him.”

What challenges does Wisconsin's offense present?

“They’re a very versatile offense. They’re a spread offense, they run the ball well, they’ll commit to it, they’ll run the ball, they have RPOs attached to every single run, so you have to do a great job, like, if you’re playing the run, you have to play the run. If you’re playing the pass, you have to make sure – you’re dropping the pass. And they do a really good job in that passing game taking shots downfield.”

What was it in the fall that gave you confidence in Gavin Meyer and Nate Clifton?

“Just, consistency, and just seeing them do it every single day, and just how fast they picked everything up and how fast you saw them grow in the scheme.”

Did you learn anything new about team after watching Michigan tape?

“Yeah, I mean, I think we have a tough group. There was some things that we went through as a group that we hadn’t been through, and you don’t know how you’re gonna respond until you go through ‘em. But, it was our first time really giving up explosive plays like that, it was our first time having to make adjustments at halftime. It was our first time having to like, tweak the gameplan some. And I feel like everyone kept their poise, and handled it well.”

How did Zion Branch respond to procedure?

“It’s like he didn’t have it. Like, he was out, and two days afterwards he had a little brace, and then he was fine.”

Defense has been aggressive on late-down blitzes, and when did that become a reality in your philosophy?

“You know, each week, to me, is a completely different week. There’s going to be some weeks where it’s like, ‘Man, we blitzed a lot.’ There’s gonna be some weeks where it looks like we blitz and we don’t, there’s gonna be weeks where we just play it in coverage. So, each week’s going to be a little bit different. It just depends on who are we playing, what do we need to defend, and how are they going to attack us?”

Were you surprised by just how few times Michigan tried to pass?

“No, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew we had to be prepared for shots, we had to be prepared for trick plays. But I didn’t know what to expect. I was prepared for absolutely anything in that game.”