YAY Or NAY: Head Coaches Should Speak Softly

Lincoln Riley said he will be adding more players with the transfer portal.

YAY. —

Mostly because USC’s roster needs more athletes that look like Anthony Lucas. When Riley arrived at USC and met with the media he said that he and the staff would assemble the most unique roster in America.

He couldn’t say it then, but it started with some quarterback named Caleb Williams. You may have heard the name come up on occasion.

Now when Riley mentions the roster, he’s referring to upgrading its talent level that he inherited. College players are young and some are naive, however, they’re not dumb. They know when their head coach is looking for a replacement. It’s a fine line a coach has to talk about because overly emotional teenagers can turn a locker room into a “whinery” really fast unless the communication lines are clear.

Following Tuesday’s spring practice No. 4, Riley met with the media indicating he would be adding more players once the portal opens again. He also said the roster, currently, has two available scholarships.

Did that number include the Malcolm Epps scholarship because Epps jumped into the portal the next day?

One thing is very clear. The players know that virtually every roster spot is open for evaluation, and just because you were a starter one season, it doesn’t mean your position isn’t being evaluated.

Head coaches need to call out their fan base.

YAY. —

Wow, how about Oregon head basketball coach Dana Altman? Following his team’s last home game against Wisconsin Altman was mad at the world, and the Ducks fan base took the brunt of his anger.

Whatever happened to walking softly and carrying a big stick?

While coaching is their No. 1 priority, a head coach needs to be able to multitask because there are other aspects involved too; including booster schmoozing and recruiting players. Not exactly in that order, however, at Oregon, you need the boosters to make the athletes feel appreciated.

The boosters are the fans, and the relationship with their athletic programs at times can be complicated.

Fans want to support their programs. But they also live vicariously through the team’s success, and if their team isn’t living up to the fan base’s expectations, they’ll stay home and support the team from their couch.

There is a similar “attitude” that Trojan fans display and it could be a shock to their nervous system when they officially join the B1G Conference. And while fan bases are different, at places like Michigan, Ohio St., and Wisconsin, you don’t need to incentivize fans with free gifts to show up to basketball games.

When it comes to Trojan basketball attendance it’s been getting better during the Andy Enfield era but there is still a lot of room for growth. Enfield has mentioned numerous times how great it is when Galen provides his team with a homecourt advantage filled with fans.

I’ve been known to call USC fans out for similar attitudes when they don’t show up to support their football and basketball teams.

When Caleb Williams is no longer a member of the football team, will Lincoln Riley have to shout at the Trojan fans to show up?

USC and Arizona St are scheduled to play on September 23rd in Tempe Arizona.

YAY. —

However, the time of the game hasn’t been determined.

The first half of the USC’s football schedule is set up for success compared to the back half of their schedule. The Trojans will open the season with three straight home games and then they’ll take the first of their two scheduled bye weeks, before hitting the road for two games.

The second of the back-to-back road games will be played in Boulder Colorado. And while the weather in Boulder can be tricky, it’s typically pretty nice that time of year and it shouldn’t be cold. Then again, I’ve seen it go from 70 degrees in Denver one hour to a full snowstorm an hour later.

However, the week before the Trojans go to Colorado, they’re heading to Sun Devils Stadium.

Raise your hand if you attended the USC vs. ASU game in Tempe back in 2005 when Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and LenDale White were scaring opposing teams.

Then like me and you were there, you remember how hot it was.

The game was scheduled for the first weekend of October and it kicked off at 12:30 PM.—Triple digits on the thermostat and the stadium’s supply of bottled water had run out before halftime. It was scary hot!

One way to make life more challenging for the Trojan football team and its fans on their way to B1G Conference would be to make their football kickoff times at the worst possible time. What’s to stop the folks from the PAC-12 offices from encouraging the TV networks to give ASU the advantage and have the game start at 12:30?

Maybe the kickoff time will be announced before the PAC-12’s new media rights deal. Or maybe the kickoff time in Tempe is already predicated on who the conference wants to televise the game.

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