New USC coach Lincoln Riley landed a major addition to his staff Sunday, as reports confirmed that the Trojans are hiring RBs coach Tashard Choice away from Georgia Tech.

JacketsOnline.com publisher Kelly Quinlan reported Friday and shared with our Trojan Talk board that this was likely.

Choice was on campus recruiting for USC on this weekend, as the Trojans hosted priority four-star RB Jovantae Barnes (Las Vegas, Nev.).

Choice starred as a running back at Georgia Tech and was a fourth-round NFL draft pick in 2008, spending his first three and a half seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before stints with the Washington Football Team, Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts.

After spending 2017 as a graduate assistant at North Texas and 2018 as the RBs coach there, Choice returned to his alma mater as RBs coach in 2019.

Georgia Tech ranked 58th nationally in rushing this season at 168.9 yards per game after ranking 43rd (190.8) last season, which was a major improvement from 2019 (154.42).

Choice is also regarded as an impactful recruiter. An interesting subplot will be what happens with Jahmyr Gibbs, who had 746 rushing yards and 465 receiving yards in his second season for Georgia Tech before entering the transfer portal.

This brings USC to eight assistant coaches hired for Riley's staff so far:

Defensive coordinator/safeties: Alex Grinch (Oklahoma)

DEs/OLBs: Jamar Cain (Oklahoma)

Defensive line:

Inside linebackers: Brian Odom (Oklahoma)

Cornerbacks: Roy Manning (Oklahoma)

Offensive line:

Running backs: Tashard Choice (Georgia Tech)

Inside receivers: Dave Nichol (Mississippi State)

Outside receivers: Dennis Simmons (Oklahoma)

Tight ends: Zach Hanson (Tulsa) *Position not confirmed

**Riley is his own play-caller