Lincoln Riley: Mario Williams, Jordan Addison are 'getting close'

On3 imageby:Kaiden Smith11/08/22

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As USC heads into their next matchup against Colorado, head coach Lincoln Riley gave an injury update on his two star wide receivers Jordan Addison and Mario Williams who have missed their last two games with injuries.

“They’re better, they’re participating more. Neither one of them have been full participants, but they’re very very close. I don’t know that I would for sure say yes, but we’re a lot closer to saying yes with several of those guys which is good,” Riley said.

Addison has missed the last two games for the Trojans after suffering a leg injury, and Williams was a late scratch in their game against Arizona with an undisclosed injury and hasn’t returned to the lineup since. The duo of pass catchers are the Trojan’s top two wide receivers, combining for 65 catches, 1,078 yards, and 11 touchdown catches on the season.

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Wideouts Michael Jackson and Tahj Washington have stepped up for the Trojan’s offense and asserted themselves as USC’s number one and two receivers during the absence of Williams and Addison. Both are fresh off of 100-plus yard receiving outings in their latest matchup against Cal, and have scored a combined five touchdowns in the last two weeks.

It’s nice to see the Trojan’s wide receiver room pick up the slack and show no falloff, but they’re hoping to get their top two receivers back soon as the regular season nears the end.

Lincoln Riley stresses importance of continued improvement for USC defense

USC secured their eighth win of the season this weekend, defeating Cal 41-35. The Trojans boasted a 34-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but some defensive struggles allowed the Golden Bears to score 21 points in the final quarter of the ballgame and get within one score of a tie or win. Thankfully, their offense helped extend their lead and propel them to a victory, but head coach Lincoln Riley was asked following the game how he plans on improving their defense as they enter their final three games.

“You just keep working, I mean the same way we have from day one,” Riley said. “I think we keep working and I think we keep pushing to get our guys healthy that haven’t been.”

The injury bug has definitely gotten the best of the Trojans on both sides of the ball lately, as they were missing receivers Jordan Addison and Mario Williams in Saturday’s game as well as linebackers Eric Gentry and Ralen Goforth.

“We obviously all sides of the ball have been playing without a lot of key guys, we’ve asked a lot of guys to step up, two of those guys here in this room that have stepped up and done some really good things for us,” Riley said.

The two players Riley was referring to were Michael Jackson III and Mekhi Blackmon who definitely came up big for the Trojans Saturday. Jackson assumed the role of USC’s number-one receiver this weekend as their room was riddled with injuries, ending the game with five catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Blackmon also had a solid day from his cornerback position, recording five tackles, a pass breakup, and a tackle for loss.

“But you’ve got to continue to improve this time of year, you got to continue to grind and to push them on the practice field which we will do and we gotta be ready to play our very best here in the end,” Riley said