WRs Jordan Addison, Mario Williams 'very, very close' to a return for USC
USC is nearing the return of some of its injured star power, but Lincoln Riley wasn't quite ready to commit to any decisions for the No. 8 Trojans' game this Friday night against Colorado.
Specifically, he was asked about wide receivers Jordan Addison and Mario Williams, who were each seen active to some extent during the part of practice media was able to observe Tuesday.
"They're better, they're participating more. Neither one of them have been full participants, but they're very, very close," Riley said. "I don't know that I'd for sure say yes, but we're a lot closer to saying yes with several of those guys, which is good."
Quarterback Caleb Williams seemed even more confident about his top two pass-catchers.
"They've actually looked like they haven't missed a day," he said after the Tuesday morning practice. "We said that in a meeting this morning. We were watching film of yesterday of them moving around and running, looked like they haven't missed a day and they've been out for the past two, three weeks. It's awesome to get them back. It just adds a little more weapons to the offense again and I can't wait to get out there with them."
Meanwhile, "those guys" that Riley referenced comprises a significant list of talent that has been missing for the Trojans.
Addison and Williams have each missed both of the last two games against Arizona and Cal.
Addison, who still leads USC with 39 catches for 585 yards and 7 TDs, sustained an unspecified leg injury during the Trojans' Oct. 15 loss to Utah, while Williams (26-493-4) was a surprise scratch two weeks ago before the game at Arizona with an undisclosed injury.
Middle linebacker Eric Gentry has also been out since the Utah game when he sustained what looked like a significant ankle sprain. Fellow linebacker Ralen Goforth has been out the last two games as well, and left tackle Bobby Haskins didn't play last week.
Riley was asked if there was any extra incentive to squeeze in an extra week of rest for guys, even if they're closer to full strength, with the Trojans playing the worst team in the Pac-12 this week in Colorado and having two huge games awaiting afterward against UCLA and Notre Dame.
"No, nope, nope. Guys that can play are going to play across the board. We only get so many of these. They're all important, they all matter, so anybody that is cleared medically to play will play," he said.
The Trojans have persevered offensively just fine without Addison and Mario Williams, impressively, as Tahj Washington has 14 catches for 130 yards and 3 touchdowns over the last two games, Kyle Ford had a breakout performance against Arizona with 6 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, and Michael Jackson III had 5 catches for 115 yards and 2 scores plus 19 rushing yards vs. Cal.
Credit to Caleb Williams for keeping the offense rolling despite playing with two different offensive line units the last two games (left guard Andrew Vorhees missed the Arizona game) and the influx of receiving depth that hadn't had a ton of opportunity previously.
He's passed for 771 yards, 9 touchdowns and 0 interceptions (plus a rushing score) the last two weeks.
"He's done a nice job, I think, operating with some of the different lineup changes. Both really the front and obviously at the skill positions we've played a lot of different people the last few weeks and he's done a good job handling that. So yeah, there's going to be new challenges. I'm glad on how he's responded the last few weeks, but we're obviously going to need him to keep doing it," Riley said.
Asked how the QB has found such chemistry with so many different receivers, Riley said it goes back to the spring.
"I think some of it helped that in spring ball we didn't have all the guys. We've had some guys in and out here and there, so a lot of that work happens behind the scenes in the summer, happens out here on the practice field so I think he has a lot of confidence in some of the different lineups that we have and different guys that are available," Riley said. "And I think those guys have kind of backed that confidence up by going out there and making plays. There's being on the same page, but there's also just the belief that that person's going to make the play on the other side of it, and our guys have done a good job of doing that."