Everything USC coach Lincoln Riley said Monday and Tuesday before Notre Dame

USC head coach Lincoln Riley sat down for his weekly radio spot Monday and then took questions from local reporters in Los Angeles for 10 minutes Tuesday, all just a few days before the Trojans travel to South Bend for Saturday’s ranked matchup between Riley’s No. 21 USC (5-1) and Marcus Freeman‘s No. 13 Notre Dame (4-2).

The first subhead contains Riley’s remarks on his initial thoughts on the Notre Dame game from a question he was asked during the radio show. The rest of the subheads come from what Riley was asked by the media after USC’s Tuesday practice. This transcript does not include what Riley said on the radio Monday about USC’s 31-13 win over Michigan.

On what stands out about the Notre Dame game

“There’s obviously some similarities when you have an opponent that you play here for multiple years. There’s some similarities with us and some similarities with them. But also in this day in age as your rosters evolve and coaching changes happen and all of that, there’s definitely some differences to both teams.

“They’ve got a good football team. They’re definitely playing well offensively right now. Quarterback’s doing a nice job. Different style of quarterback than, obviously, what they played with last year. But they’ve got a good group around him. A lot of good skill around him.

“Defensively, a lot of really good things. They’ve been really stout against the run. Just continuing to make plays on the back end like you always see on tape coming into this game. And then they’ve got a couple of guys in the return game who have done a really good job.

“So it’s a good football team. It’ll be two good teams going at it. It’ll be a fun night, fun challenge. Obviously one that we always look forward to.”

On the status of USC running backs Riley Wormley and Harry Dalton III given the injuries in the room

“They’re available. Two young guys, two talented young guys. And right now with our running back situation, obviously anyone and everyone is certainly an option. So we’ll see how they progress. But they’re available. And yeah, we’re going to work a lot of different people and have a lot of guys ready to go. Obviously not just for this week. We’ve got a long season ahead.

On if USC will switch anyone’s position to running back

“Maybe. I wouldn’t say, to be honest. Yeah. Yeah.”

On RB Bryan Jackson’s health with a turf toe injury and if he expects him to keep playing

“We do, yeah. He did well. Came out of the game really clean. Felt good. It was good that it wasn’t a situation where he had to go in there and take like 30 or 40 reps. He probably wouldn’t feel as good right now as he did. But yeah, it’s been a steady build up in practice the last few weeks. And like I said, our running back depth obviously has been deep enough that we felt like we would be able to do it.

“But he was in a position, I think, regardless of this happening, that we were going to be able to continue to ramp him up this week. So we’re probably pushing that a little bit more than we would have. But no, he’s doing well. And obviously, we’re fortunate that he’s got the experience he does. He knows our system inside-out. Has really mentally stayed in tune even as he was working himself back. So yeah, there’s not a whole lot of rust on that kid.”

On RB King Miller’s increased workload

“He did good. He’s been getting a lot of reps in practice. The way we practice, he’s been able to get a lot. We’ve used him in a lot of different ways. He’s been doing a lot on special teams as well. So I mean, he’s in great shape. He’s one of our highest volume players at practice typically. So yeah, I mean, he handled it good physically and did a nice job operating the whole offense, obviously. And so now, yeah, I mean, the way that Coach Jones trains those guys, I think, is advantageous with the current situation.”

On the status of defensive tackle Floyd Boucard

“Floyd will miss the next couple of weeks. Won’t play this week for sure. We obviously got a bye after that. So then we’ll kind of see how he is. But he definitely won’t be available this week.”

On the state of walk-ons, who have meant a lot to USC this season, in the current era of college football

“Yeah, no, I think it’s just a message for all of us that they’re obviously still really, really important. And they’ve always been important to the history of college football. I mean, listen, it has limited, obviously, the spots and the future for it. But I mean, I think we’ve got to make sure there’s always a place for it.

“And I think one of the things that’ll happen, in my opinion, as it goes through is there may be less roster spots overall. But there’s obviously going to be more scholarship players here. And so some of that is going to be some guys that may be in the past that would have been walk-ons that may were able to come in as scholarship players. So there’s some give and take that way.”

On if King Miller and Kaylon Miller will be scholarship players soon

“Yeah, I mean, there are obviously two guys that are both very deserving of one. So I mean, any time with a walk-on scholarship, there’s two pieces to it. Obviously, it’s are they deserving? And then just your availability at the current moment. So yeah, I mean, those guys are clearly a matter of when, not if. So we’ve got several good ones in this program right now that are contributing a lot. And we’ve been able to reward several. And definitely look forward to the day when we can get that done with those guys.”

On if Kaylon Miller has to compete for his o-line job when he gets back from injury

“Well, I think all of them are going to have to. Some of the guys that have been out, if Kilian [O’Connor], Elijah [Paige], all those guys. I mean, that’s Wally Pipp, right? I mean, that’s the way this sport works. And so those guys are really good players and have done some really good things around here. But also, other guys step in there when they get opportunities and do well. And that’s some of the competition that it creates. So yeah, we’ll see how those guys are as they work themselves back. But obviously, this group’s playing at a high level and like some of the continuity that we’re hopefully able to build with these guys. So it’s a good position to be in as they start to work themselves back.

“But yeah, I mean, that’s the nature of the beast. That’s why when you look at a lot of the great players throughout history, I mean, just the ability to stay healthy is a, whatever you want to call it, there is some luck to it. But there’s obviously a lot of skill to it and a lot of the way you train and take care of your body. It is, in this sport, it’s everything because the opportunities are so limited, no matter who you are.”

On continuing to get the buy-in USC had vs. Michigan

“I think that’s our challenge as a team. I think the best teams improve and then they learn as the season goes on. There’s challenges that you face in the season together that are different than anything you can fully simulate in an off-season or in a spring practice. And you learn about yourself. You either win or lose. But regardless of that, you learn what you are. You learn what you’re not. You learn what you do well, what you don’t, and the areas that you have to improve to keep giving yourself or the team the best chance to be successful.

“And the best teams, you take it and learn from it. So for us, we prepared good and we played a good game. Do we learn from that or are we satisfied? And that’ll be our challenge. And all good teams go through that. And the best ones I’ve been around continually challenge themselves. And it was really a one-week season every single week. And you have the ability to press that reset button and get ready physically, emotionally to go do it again. And that’s the challenge, especially when you play a schedule like we do within this conference. You have to be able to do that at a high level. And so that’s our challenge. And that’s what we’re all here to do.”

On recruiting King Miller

“I remember us being through the high school. And I know the coaches really bragged on him, thought he was a good player. We did too. I mean, I think we kind of had an assumption in the beginning, well, if maybe a school of our level doesn’t offer him, somebody’s going to. And then we kind of kept tabs on him. And it never happened. But yeah, I remember seeing a really good athlete that was raw but was very fluid and liked his skill set a lot, thought he did a lot of things well and didn’t feel like he was that far off initially from being an offer guy for us.

“And then he’s just come here and he’s just developed. I mean, he’s like a classic story of a guy that has talent. He gets here. He works hard. He’s humble. Every single rep to him has been valuable, whether it’s a scout team rep or it’s in the weight room or anything. Like, he never complains. Like, it just, he’s got in that mold like Tobias [Raymond] and like Devan Thompkins. Like, he fits that mold of guys that just had some talent. And they got here. And they’ve worked hard. And they’ve learned to really utilize it and maximize it. And then all of a sudden, you look up and guys become pretty effective players at this level. So yeah, it’s a cool story.”

On the biggest challenges for USC facing Notre Dame

“Yeah, a really good football team. They’re moving the ball very well offensively. They’re definitely different offensively this year. I think you probably have to point to the quarterback position first, just in the style of quarterback that they had last year versus this year is very much different. It looks like they’ve done a good job of adapting to him. They got a lot of good skill around those guys. Obviously, we know really good in the running back room and some good receivers. Obviously, the lion is playing at a good level.

“And then defensively, a few new faces there, a few familiar faces. But I mean, I think they’ve done a really nice job, especially here of late stopping the run and making some plays in the passing game and trying to challenge it and not give you easy completions that way. So yeah, I mean, it’ll be a good battle. It’s going to be two really good football teams going at it, like it should be in this game. So it’ll be a lot of fun.”