Lincoln Riley opens up on what he has learned during USC tenure

When Lincoln Riley was hired by USC following the ouster of Clay Helton, he was viewed as as slam dunk addition and the guy who would get the Trojans back to national prominence.

The first year very much went that direction. Quarterback Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy and USC went 11-3.

But each season since has seen a step back.

The Trojans had to fight last year just to secure bowl eligibility, then had to win in the bowl game to ensure a winning season. There have begun to be some minor rumblings around the program.

Lincoln Riley’s not hearing them.

“We honestly feel like we’ve made a lot of progress here in the last few years,” Riley said on The Hard Count with JD PicKell. “I think we knew walking in the door that this was going to take some time. And it certainly can never happen fast enough. We’re all competitors. All we’ve ever done is be a part of winning teams and winning programs.”

Winning big is still very much the focus for USC and Lincoln Riley and whether they’re ready to do that in 2025 remains to be seen.

Riley admitted there was a good deal of learning that took place following his move from Oklahoma.

“Every job and every opportunity is different, and this one is probably as unique as it gets in so many ways,” he said. “A lot of what makes USC so special is the kind of school, the academic reputation, obviously the football history doing it in such a unique and cool environment as we have here in Los Angeles. So it’s been fun. It’s been fun taking it over.

“It’s been fun, I think, learning about this place and then obviously we’re doing it in such a unique, kind of transformational time in college football no matter where you’re at. So it’s been a fun challenge.”

USC fans won’t sit long with mediocre or slightly above .500 results, so Lincoln Riley has to put things together in a hurry.

There’s new leadership at the administrative level and they’ll be looking to see some progress given the hefty sums Riley commands in terms of compensation.

None of that comes as a surprise to Lincoln Riley. He believes the program is ready to roll in 2025.

“Obviously we knew what we were undertaking here, and I feel like, though, with the people that we’ve added both on the staff, the roster that we’ve really started to build, the new facility, which is under construction right outside this window and will be ready in a little over a year, the changes in administration, obviously the move to the Big Ten Conference, I feel like we’ve been doing so many things and setting the stage for this program to be elite again,” Riley said.

“And it’s been a fun climb. Obviously excited for kind of this next phase and this next step, but feel like we’ve learned a lot about this place and made a lot of progress and eager and excited for this upcoming season.”

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