Lincoln Riley says USC not leaning on Eric Gentry for Arizona State insight

Lincoln Riley realized how much of an overhaul USC needed from a roster standpoint when arriving in Los Angeles. The head coach decided to hit the transfer portal pretty hard, acquiring a lot of talent — mostly on the offensive side.

But one of the top defensive players for the Trojans this season is linebacker Eric Gentry. He has been instrumental in the 4-0 start to the season. Now, Gentry will be going up against his old team in his old home, with USC traveling to face Arizona State.

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Riley was asked if they are taking advantage of Gentry’s knowledge of the Arizona State program to gameplan for Saturday night. He said they “really haven’t” and the goal for the linebacker is understanding the USC defense and getting the win. If there was a specific question, Riley says they would ask Gentry but for now, nothing has come of it.

“You know, we really haven’t,” Riley said. “Being honest. We really haven’t. Some of it is — not that the system will completely change but they’ve had a coaching change in that time. The staff has shuffled just a little bit. I think a lot of it for us, especially when it comes to players — if you had a coach, you probably would.

“With players, we really want Eric focused on trying to execute the USC defense and his job. Focusing on what we need to do well against Arizona State more than that. Not to say if we did have a specific question, we wouldn’t go to him. But it hasn’t really been a point of discussion this week.”

Gentry spent one season in Tempe, earning freshman All-American status with the Sun Devils. Head coach Herm Edwards was still in charge of the program but he was fired early in the 2022 season. As Riley mentioned, there’s a chance Arizona State could look different come under the new regime.

The move to USC has worked out for Gentry as well. In four games, the linebacker has recorded 32 tackles and been dangerous in coverage with his 6-6 length. For defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, there are multiple ways to deploy him across the field.

A mini-reunion will be on tap for Gentry when facing old teammates. But for now, he’s not part of the game planning for USC and head coach Lincoln Riley.