Interim coach Donte Williams, USC players discuss hiring of Lincoln Riley
While there isn't much outside attention on USC's rescheduled regular-season finale this weekend at Cal, there was fresh intrigue and a new dynamic at practice Tuesday.
About 10 minutes into the Trojans' practice, new head coach Lincoln Riley walked through the gates at Howard Jones Field to observe the roster he's inheriting.
Riley spent time standing next to USC director of player personnel Spencer Harris, presumably getting up to speed on who's who.
Also in attendance were new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, new wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons and new head strength coach Bennie Wylie, who all followed Riley from Oklahoma.
That set up an interesting dynamic as Grinch watched current defensive coordinator Todd Orlando coach the defense during practice. The new coaches all remained on the sidelines and merely observing, though during one offensive period wide receiver John Jackson III worked in a quick handshake with Simmons as he ended up near that sideline.
Riley had said on Monday that he would leave the coaching to Williams and the current staff this week.
'I don't want to be a distraction to them this week, so we'll kind of be working in the shadows," Riley said. "We'll get a chance to watch them work out, we'll do a lot of recruiting and then get a chance to spend some time with our guys next week."
Meanwhile, Williams and the players USC made available to reporters after practice had their first chance to discuss the seismic Riley news that shook college football this week.
"Shoot, I always told you that the administration at USC would do the right thing and they made a splash hire. Bright, bright, bright future for USC football going ahead. Congratulations to Coach Riley. Like I say, USC, it's only up from here. That is the truth," Williams said. "I know they're going to recruit the right way, I know they're going to play games the right way and we'll see where all that's going. But for right now, our main focus is about Cal. We still do have a game this week, we owe it to these kids that's out here that's practicing, competing every day to make sure we get their best out of them and they get the best out of us. And that's what we're gonna do."
Williams was pressed as to his own future and whether his use of "they" in talking about the Trojans moving forward was an indication he didn't expect to be back.
"It has nothing to do with me. Right now my main focus is all about Cal and only Cal. I'll focus on everything else after this particular ball game," he said. "Otherwise I'm cheating these guys, I'm cheating these kids, I'm cheating these coaches."
Williams said he had not been informed about his status beyond this week.
"I haven't even asked about that, I do not want to be informed. All I care about right now is making sure we handle Cal. Everything for me is about Cal, trust me," he said. "That's where my main focus is, that's where my focus will stay. I don't want it to swindle at all any other direction. All day I sit in here and watch film on Cal, offense, defense and special teams and make sure we're fully prepared to play them."
Asked if he wanted to remain on staff under Riley ...
"That's kind of like a trick question there. I mean, this is a great place, this is home for me. So right now once again I'm still focused on Cal," he said.
Williams and Riley spent some time together on Monday prior to the press conference to introduce the new head coach. Riley was non-committal when asked after that formal introduction whether he would consider keeping any current staff, saying he would evaluate.
Williams, meanwhile, shared his thoughts on Riley when asked Tuesday.
"He's a great guy. Someone who I knew for a while now and that won't change. He's always been someone that I admired from afar. His offenses always put up great numbers, his teams always played well," Williams said. "Coach Grinch's defense has always played well. So great football coaches, great minds, great people. So I mean, I have nothing but positivity to say about them."
USC made linebacker Kana'i Mauga, defensive end Nick Figueroa, quarterback Jaxson Dart and wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. available to reporters in a group session after practice. The players were coached up by the sports information team before taking questions and their responses were mostly guarded.
"I think a lot of us were pretty surprised. Didn’t really hear his name much in the conversation about it. A lot of us are excited," Dart said. "We know his history and what he’s done to all the programs he’s been to. So I think a lot of us were surprised and excited."
Said Figueroa: "I mean I think everyone was pretty shocked and excited. The entire Twitter world, we kind saw that blow up before our eyes. There’s a lot of positive optimism around our program, and I think we just want to keep that rolling into the next game and kind of use that to build momentum going into the next season, whether it be in recruiting or within our own team. I think there’s a lot of potential here. It’s a match to start a fire."
Interestingly, none of the players said they saw Riley's introductory press conference Monday (they would have had practice soon thereafter), but the team met with Riley earlier that day briefly.
"We probably got a real similar message. Everything is being evaluated from this point forward. Practice. Previous practices. And yeah, change is on the horizon. But change is good," Figueroa said.
"... Definitely just excited. Everything is being evaluated. He’s watching. He’s seeing what we have, what we may need to address, and this is a big chance for everyone to step up and make a name for themselves. It’s sort of like a week of spring ball right now. Obviously a huge game, but spring ball in the sense of evaluation. So we’re excited."
Williams was also asked what it was like having Riley observing practice.
"I mean, if anything I hope that it brings more juice just because the guys are able to see another coach out here getting prepared to practice, play. It's evaluation," he said. "Everything we do is always evaluation. Like I say, every day is a job interview. Everything you do is an interview, that's for you all, that's for me, that's for these players, that's for everyone. And they love competing. So it's no different than all of a sudden an NFL owner was out here and that's how they should feel. I'm sure they're very grateful for the opportunity but once again it's all about Cal."
NOTES: Junior QB Kedon Slovis (muscle injury in leg) was in pads for the first time in two weeks, but he barely did anything during practice. ... RB Keaontay Ingram was in pads but did not practice, same with TE Michael Trigg. ... OTs Jalen McKenzie and Courtland Ford did not practice.