Lincoln Riley lists USC players, positions standing out in practice

USC finds itself in a different position than most power conference teams. Lincoln Riley already has a game under his belt, defeating San Jose State during Week 1. The Trojans have been in regular season mode for at least a week now and all of it has started on the practice field.

Heading into the Nevada game, Riley was asked who has been standing out throughout the week. He began by mentioning a few injuries and how USC is expected to get a few guys back. In what is already a deeper roster than the 2022 season, more help is on the way.

“We’ll have (Michael Jackson) back this week,” Riley said when speaking to the media on Thursday. “It’s good to have him back this week. He’s doing well. Makai Lemon and a lot of those guys are really continuing to impress. Excited to maybe be a little bit closer to full strength there.”

Much has been made of the USC defense coming out of Week 0. San Jose State was able to do enough damage to have people believe Alex Grinch‘s unit was going to look similar. Results last season were incredibly poor and the 2023 opener did not help.

Even so, Riley decided to give the Trojans’ secondary a shoutout for their practice performance this week. He expects them to be ready for Nevada’s passing attack come Saturday.

“The secondary has had a good week of practice,” Riley said. “Ceyair (Wright) has really practiced well, taken on the challenge. He got a little dinged up in the game the other day but bounced back nicely. He’s been moving around, full go. He’ll be ready.

“I think safeties and nickels have all had a really good week of practice as well. Christian Roland-Wallace continues to practice well.”

Riley then spoke in a more general term, saying he was impressed with how everyone has been practicing. Getting an early win could have caused USC to slack off a bit, especially with someone like Nevada popping up on the schedule.

He’s seen differently though, as the Trojans have “gotten after” it throughout the past few days.

“We’ve taken some steps on the field,” Riley said. “There’s nothing like seeing that first game and just the clarity that it brings. I think our guys have been hungry to practice and we’ve gotten after them these last three days. I think they’ve responded well.”