Musings from Arledge: Lincoln Riley the Celebrity, the USC O-Line, and Wishing Kedon Slovis Well
Short Musings today, being that we’re only two days before Christmas … also known as early signing day.
Imagine that everything you did, every place you went, you and your family were the focus of everybody’s attention, the constant source of town gossip. Might that get old in a hurry?
I don’t know Lincoln Riley. But in all the talk about his decision to leave Oklahoma, I think one possible reason hasn’t been discussed enough: Lincoln Riley was by far the biggest celebrity in Norman, Oklahoma. He, his wife, and their two daughters would always be the center of attention in that smallish town. His daughters would grow up in the spotlight and either the source of adulation and awe (if Riley keeps winning) or the source of constant ire and abuse (if he doesn’t). They couldn’t possibly have normal lives there.
I think USC presents some special opportunities for Riley from a football perspective. He can build a better roster at USC than at Oklahoma, and he built some very good rosters at OU. He has an easier path to the playoff at USC than he would in the SEC West. And the money is obviously good (although I’m quite sure OU would have matched the money).
But I also wonder whether the personal side wasn’t a factor, too. Many of the articles about Riley talk about how he is a very private person. I think being the biggest celebrity in Norman could be a burden for somebody like that. In LA, where Lincoln Riley won’t be one of the top 100 celebrities in town, he can go to the grocery store or a restaurant and be recognized by very few people. His kids won’t bear the burden of having everybody in town being laser-focused on their doings. He and his family can live largely outside the spotlight and live something that approaches a normal life – at least as normal as you can get when you make $10-12 million a year.
We’ll see how much Riley uses the transfer portal to build O-line talent and depth. He’s obviously already looking at some transfers there, and some major additions would be nice.
But I actually think with a competent offensive system, the O-line could be in decent shape next year already, at least in the starting five. The O-line wasn’t terrible by the end of the year. They certainly were running the ball better than in the past couple of years, and that was despite an offensive system that didn’t value the run–I think there was only one running play–and did very little to confuse the defense. Andrew Vorhees will be a very solid player in the interior. Brett Neilon is undersized, but he has a ton of experience and should be more than competent. Justin Dedich hasn’t had much opportunity, but I’m hopeful. And Courtland Ford and Jonah Monheim are likely to take huge leaps forward in their second year as starters. That’s not a terrible group by any stretch.
Now that USC will have a first-rate offensive system and coordinator–something we haven’t been able to say for a very long time–I suspect the existing group could be more than adequate. And if Riley adds some quality bigs from the portal or high school ranks, the O-line–and the offense as a whole–should be dramatically better next year.
I’m more worried about the defensive front seven, where outside of Tuli Tuipulotu, we saw very little to be hopeful about. That’s where Riley and his staff need to work their magic.
And I do think this staff will work some recruiting magic. We’re already seeing some of that, and I suspect we’ll have a pretty good day on Wednesday. This is a staff of top-notch recruiters, and Riley himself is arguably the best head coach recruiter in the nation. That will help. The hope that he brings to the USC program will help also. When USC is doing it right, the Trojans load up. Signing day the next couple of years could be a lot of fun.
So it’s time to say farewell to Kedon Slovis, who is headed to the portal. I think he’s right to go. Jaxson Dart will be tough to unseat as a starter, especially because Lincoln Riley likes mobile quarterbacks. If Slovis wants to play (and of course he wants to play), he needs to go elsewhere. And plenty of programs will be interested. He’s a talented guy who has a lot of good game tape to impress other coaches.
Wherever he ends up, I wish Kedon the best. The kid was a great Trojan who made a lot of great plays under horrible circumstances. Slovis had to deal with offensive line troubles, a lousy system, and very questionable coaching–see how generous I am!–from Clay Helton and Graham Harrell. Kedon didn’t have the finish that he–and we–expected after his stellar freshman career. But I appreciate what he did. I hope he has good memories of Troy, and I hope Trojan fans treat him well as he exits.
