Mississippi State football's Dave Emerick to leave Bulldogs, join Lincoln Riley at USC

USC made a big addition to its off-field football staff on Saturday.

The Trojans are hiring Mississippi State senior associate athletic director for football Dave Emerick as the program’s new general manager and senior associate athletic director for football, Emerick announced. He worked with Mike Leach since 2000 at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State. But now, he’s heading back out west to work alongside Lincoln Riley.

“I have had the privilege of working for Coach Leach for 18 years from Texas Tech to Washington State to Mississippi State,” Emerick wrote. “We have had a lot of great times and have on a lot of games along the way. I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today without him, and I am forever grateful for the impact that he has had on my life.

“While I firmly believe that Mississippi State Football’s best days are right in front of them, it is time for me to take on a new adventure. I am excited to be joining the staff at USC as the General Manager/Senior Associate Athletic Director for Football.”

Hiring Dave Emerick is the latest move USC has made this offseason

USC recently lost lost two big pieces to its off-field staff. The Trojans saw chief of staff Brandon Sosna depart to join the Detroit Lions front office and their director of player personnel, Spencer Harris, left to help run the university’s new NIL collective. Now, Riley and Co. are bringing in Emerick, who’s familiar with the Pac-12 landscape and brings an SEC pedigree from the last few years in Starkville.

USC made sweeping changes to its football program this offseason, hiring Riley away from Oklahoma and bringing in one of the most impressive transfer portal hauls in the country. Notably, the Trojans landed commitments from quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Jordan Addison — the No. 1 and No. 2 transfers, respectively, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.