Lincoln Riley says veteran offensive lineman Jonah Monheim moving to center

With USC looking to fill the void left at center by veteran offensive lineman Justin Dedich, it always stood to reason that the best option might be fifth-year senior Jonah Monheim.

And head coach Lincoln Riley announced Monday night that is indeed the plan heading into the start of spring practice Tuesday.

"Obviously, Jonah coming back is a big deal. He's going to step inside and play center for us, which will be great for our program this year and will be great for his career long-term as well. So I thought it was a really mature decision on his part that will pay dividends down the line," Riley said during his appearance on Trojans Live.

Monheim started the 2021-2022 seasons at right tackle for USC before moving to left tackle last year, but it had long been suggested that his best chance for success at the next level might be at center.

Quarterback Miller Moss also appeared on Trojans Live on Monday night and talked about Monheim's position change, noting that former USC starting center Brett Neilon (Dedich's predecessor at the position) was working with Monheim this offseason on the transition.

"Brett is doing Pro Day on Wednesday, so he's come back and worked with Jonah a little bit, which has been awesome, throughout the offseason," Moss said. "He was obviously a great player for us, a really cerebral guy, and I think Jonah can similarly pick up in that. He's a really, really intelligent guy. Obviously, he has all the physical tools to be a great lineman, but super excited about him in that role -- takes some stuff off the quarterback as well with a really smart guy up there."

The Trojans could only move perhaps their steadiest overall lineman inside if the coaches felt good about the options at the other spots.

Riley touched on that as well.

"I think we've got a chance to be a pretty big group. [Left guard Emmanuel] Pregnon really came on, he played his best game in the bowl game. He's so much different than he was like last year at this time. I mean, he's made huge strides," Riley said. "We're really excited about some of the young guys on the interior -- Alani Noa, Amos Talalele, Micah Banuelos -- we get Gino [Quinones] back, which will be great after getting injured early in the season last year, Kilian O'Connor.

"And then, I mean tackle-wise, shoot, Elijah Paige came in in the Holiday Bowl and dominated. I mean, dominated. He probably played the best game that a tackle played for us all year last year, against a quality defensive line. So we were really pleased with his progress. [Mason] Murphy came in and did some really good things in that game as well. We're excited to see Tobias [Raymond] out there, we've got Lolo [Ta'aga] and some of the young guys that are here. It's an exciting group, it is."

So it sounds like Paige, who is now a redshirt freshman, and Murphy, a redshirt junior who moved between right guard and right tackle last year, will start on the outside, Pregnon will return to his post at left guard, and Noa (a redshirt freshman) would likely compete with Quinones at the other guard spot.

Noa started the season opener last year, but his playing time fell off after the first three games. It was noted that he went through some unspecified off-field adversity, but by December he was receiving strong buzz again for his bowl practices.

"I'm excited to watch them compete, excited to watch them play. They've got an edge and a chip on their shoulder. You have to have that -- that position, certainly at this school," Riley said. "We've got to take a step there, and this group's very focused on that."