Lincoln Riley hasn't changed stance on NIL, transfer portal

Lincoln Riley hasn’t changed his stance on NIL or the NCAA Transfer Portal, in-favor of both, and who could blame him after USC’s 2022 season.

After two of college football’s most controversial topics helped the Trojans regain the national exposure they’ve craved under Riley, the USC leader elaborated on why he believes they’re both great for college football, and specifically great for his program.

“My thoughts on it haven’t changed a whole lot, I mean to be honest,” stated Riley. “It’s certainly a factor. It’s something that every school uses different ways. Everybody’s involved at a different level. Some you see across the country publicly. There’s a lot of things that are going on that you don’t see. So yeah, I mean it’s — I feel kind of in the same place that I’ve always felt.

“I mean, we’ve got to figure out what it’s got to be, and how it’s going to be, and how we’re going to regulate it, and to my knowledge nobodies really done that yet. So hopefully that comes. USC, probably like every school in America, has adapted a lot in the last seven or eight months. We’ve got some new groups that have done a really nice job with our guys and opportunities, and with another one or two on the way. So been very pleased with the direction of it here, where it’s going.”

Additionally, Riley elaborated on why he believes NIL should be an advantage to USC specifically, due to their brand and the opportunities they provide their athletes.

“(NIL) Should be an advantage for us here,” added Riley. “I mean, let’s be honest, we’ve got a powerful alumni base. A lot of people that love and care about USC football. You’re playing in a city that puts a lot of attention on winning teams, and especially this team, when it’s playing at the level it should be. It puts them on a very unique stage. Then when you tie in all the corporate opportunities here for any athlete, professional now or collegiate, they’re very unique, and really nowhere else exist like that. So should be an advantage.

“We’re kind of watching this thing unfold like the rest of the world is, and like I said, hopefully here at some point we decide what we can do and what we can’t do, and we’re able to enforce all of it, and I think all of it will be in a better place as that goes.”

Whatever becomes of NIL and the NCAA Transfer Portal, USC and Lincoln Riley has provided the blue-print on how to navigate it. It remains to be see, but the Trojans are back and looking to stay in the national title picture for the foreseeable future, and both means of acquiring players will aid their quest.