Lincoln Riley on Consistency from Caleb Williams, Shane Lee's Recovery and Candid Conversations with Josh Falo

USC head coach Lincoln Riley spoke to the media on Thursday morning for the final time before the Trojans kick off at Utah on Saturday night. Riley touched on a number of topics, including the play of starting quarterback Caleb Williams, the potential availability of starting linebacker Shane Lee, and what went into the increased playing time for tight end Josh Falo.

Caleb Finding Consistency

Caleb Williams told the assembled media this week that he feels he’s played “alright” through six games of the season.

Williams has completed 64.9% of his passes for 1,590 yards and 14 touchdowns against one interception this season. He’s also rushed 53 times for 178 yards and three scores.

His numbers are comparable to his true freshman season at Oklahoma. Last year, Williams completed 64.5% of his passes for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns against four interceptions. He averaged 9.1 yards per completion last season compared to 8.5 this year. But he’ll wind up attempting far more passes this season. He’s already thrown the ball 188 times compared to 211 in 11 games (not all as a starter) last year.

He was more effective as a runner last season, averaging 5.6 yards per carry compared to 3.4 this season. He’s been sacked 20 times last season compared to 11 so far this year.

“I felt like I can play a lot better,” Williams said this week. “I don’t feel like I’ve unlocked everything I can do and my ability. I’m trying to get to that point because this team needs my best throughout this last stretch of the season.”

Riley seemed to echo Williams’ thoughts on his performance this season.

“He’s done a lot of good things,” Riley said. “I think he can play more consistent and I think he knows that. He’s made a lot of spectacular plays. I think he knows he can make kind of more routine, consistent plays and just continue to improve. I think that’s, that’s such a big part of it.”

Riley called attention to the fact that people discussing Williams often overlook the fact that he is just now getting to the point where he’d be starting his second full season based on the fact that he didn’t begin last year as the starter for the Sooners.

“Everybody kind of dismisses that,” Riley said. “But I mean, that’s real….There’s a lot of positives. There’s a lot of things where he’s improved a lot. There is still a lot left to go and I think he’s eager to get there. We just have to keep working hard and grinding like the rest of the team to get to that point.”

Shane Lee’s Potential Return

USC played without starting linebacker Shane Lee against Washington State. Riley said late last week he felt Lee would play against the Cougars. He said Thursday that he “probably got too far out in front of it last week” in projecting his return.

Riley was more cautious in talking about Lee potentially being on the field against Utah.

“I feel better about it this week than I did last week,” Riley said. “He hasn’t been a full participant. But he’s been able to participate certainly more than he did last week.

Ralen Goforth started in Lee’s place against Washington State and led the team with eight tackles. It would be significant if USC could get Lee back this weekend. This is a Utah team that will likely look to pound the ball in the run game. Lee is an integral part of the inside run defense for the Trojans.

Josh Falo Earns Playing Time

Tight end Josh Falo’s very first reception as a USC Trojan went for a 30-yard touchdown as a true freshman in 2017. Later that year, he put away the Pac-12 Championship Game with a short fourth-down reception.

He played in 12 games that year, 10 games the following year and 11 games in 2019. But he’s dealt with injuries and simply an inability to get on the field the past two seasons. He did not see any game action during the 2021 season. As a result, it looked like earning playing time for Lincoln Riley this year would be a significant uphill battle.

But Falo fought that battle. After seeing just 12 total snaps in the first four games of the season, Falo registered 31 offensive snaps against Arizona State and then 32 against Washington State. He doesn’t have a pass reception yet, but he was on the field for all four of USC’s rushing touchdowns over the past two games.

“I’ve been proud of Josh,” Riley said.

Riley said he and Falo had some “candid conversations” right when Riley arrived at USC.

“You see this big, kind of ideal-looking tight end body walk in the room, you figure alright, why is this guy not been a really, really fantastic player?”

Riley said he spoke with Falo about the things that have kept him from playing time, or the times where he’s held himself back. Injury issues kept him off the field during the spring. Healthy now, he’s become a big part of the offense and the running game especially.

“When you find a way to stay on the field and you come to work everyday, you’re going to get better,” Riley said. “He’s been on the field consistently. He’s been able to get reps, he’s been healthy, he’s gotten better, he’s gotten confidence.”

Falo had a chance to see the field more against the Sun Devils, likely in part because fellow tight end Lake McRee missed the game due to injury.

“He did a nice job and because of that, his role and opportunities have just grown a bit,” Riley said. “He’s been a good, physical presence for us in there at the tight end. He and Lake and Malcolm [Epps] have formed a nice room that are doing some really productive things for us.

“Been proud of him,” Riley continued. “He’s kind of hung in there and weathered the storm. And it’s fun to see him getting better and building a bigger role for himself for this team.”