USC coach Lincoln Riley confirmed Tuesday what had seemed likely -- that redshirt senior offensive guard Gino Quinones is out for the season with a "lower leg injury."

Quinones was injured in the first half of the Trojans' 66-14 win over Nevada and had to be helped off the field, unable to put weight on that injured knee or leg.

"Tough news on Gino -- lower leg injury, will miss the rest of the season. Hate it for him. He's really done an outstanding job, become a part of our rotation, valuable member," Riley said. "He's in good spirits. He's going to fight back, we'll get him fixed up and look forward to having him back. He's going to be a big part of the future of the offensive line and the teams here. Unfortunately, just won't be on the field the rest of the season. So we need some other guys to step up, and we look forward to those guys doing so."

Quinones already had one year of eligibility remaining due to the free Covid year. He redshirted as a freshman in 2019, but he could apply for a medical hardship waiver to add another season to his eligibility beyond next year.

Quinones emerged last season as a part of the Trojans' offensive line rotation, filling in as a starter for two games.

He started at right guard in the season opener, playing 42 snaps between that spot, left guard and center. He came off the bench Saturday vs. Nevada, playing 9 snaps at left guard.

His injury leaves USC with Wyoming transfer Emmanuel Pregnon and true freshman Alani Noa, who each started one of the games so far at left guard, to compete for the playing time there, assuming veteran Washington State transfer Jarrett Kingston stays at right guard.

Redshirt junior Andrew Milek could be another option to help stabilize the depth on those guard spots. Meanwhile, USC has some strength at tackle right now with Michael Tarquin and Mason Murphy both earning praise on the right side. Could one move inside if needed?

As for the backup center spot, sophomore walk-on Kilian O'Connor has been listed as the No. 2 option on the depth chart, while Monheim and Milek would be other options there if needed behind starter Justin Dedich.

"It hurts losing Gino. He was a really good player and a very valuable member. Now, we do have other guys that can step in there and play and have played and play well. So yeah, I think it puts some more opportunities on the shoulders of Kingston and Pregnon and Alani, some of those guys inside that need to step up and go take it," Riley said. "We suspect that they will, but obviously, yeah, it's one guy less than you'd like to have."