USC football coach Lincoln Riley has been bluntly clear about his intentions to significantly makeover this Trojans roster before his first season.
Back in December, he plainly said the program would likely change out 35 scholarship spots.
Sure enough, USC had 19 scholarship players enter the transfer portal since the end of last season, along with another 17 who either ran out of eligibility, declared for the NFL draft or just opted to move on from the program. In their place, USC has brought in 13 transfers so far, in addition to the incoming recruiting class.
So when Riley said Monday night that USC isn't done working the portal, well, it's a safe bet that there will indeed be more shakeup to come after the spring.
"Oh, we'll evaluate. There's no question about it. There will continue to be a lot of movement. The way we're positioned right now, we will take a large number of transfers again after spring. I mean that's just kind of where our roster's at," Riley said during his appearance on Trojans Live. "We've got a lot of flexibility at this point, and I think we've got a product as evident by some of the quality guys that came in here in this first cycle, we've got a place that a lot of people are excited about playing football and going to school at.
"But I love the roster that we've built so far and excited about the flexibility that we have after spring concludes."
RELATED: Our staff discusses, debates the key questions and storylines for USC entering spring practice
The Trojans formally start spring practice Tuesday with the first of 15 practices spread over five weeks.
Riley was asked a lot of questions about his first nearly four months on the job, what he's learned about the program, what he wants to accomplish this spring, etc.
"When you come in in the position we did and you really try to pull back the layers and peel back the layers on every part of this program and try to figure out what's going on and happening at an elite level, and those that are let's keep building that. And the things that aren't, we've got to get them to an elite level quickly," Riley said. "So it's been a lot to do, but honestly it's been a lot of fun -- it really has. The buy-in from the administration, the players, the staff has been so good. I think we've made a lot of progress in a short amount of time."
He emphasized the importance of hiring assistant coaches who have been a part of winning programs, who know what it takes to reach the goals the Trojans are chasing. He talked about quarterback Caleb Williams, of course. And about his trust in defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who came with him from Oklahoma.
On the matter of the significant roster turnover, meanwhile, Riley was asked if he has any concerns about the chemistry of a team that features so many new players coming from so many different places.
"I definitely wouldn't say worry, but I think that we would be foolish not to identify that that's one of the challenges for us right now. I've told the team this, they've heard me say it multiple times, this is going to be in a lot of ways maybe the most unique roster in the history of USC football when you think about how it will all come together by the time we kickoff in September," he said. "And so our ability to galvanize together as a staff, as a program, the locker room, it will be a huge factor in ultimately what this team can accomplish. ...
"It's a journey to go where we all want this to go. I'll say this. Everyday you wake up, man, we've got to do this, this, this and this. Honestly, the list is a little bit longer than the day. But the potential of what this place can be, the direction of where we're headed, I think is undoubtedly there. I have zero doubts of that."
**Read a full transcript of Riley's comments on our Trojan Talk board**
