Trojans looking to end spring on a high note
The USC Trojans held their tenth practice on Tuesday afternoon, the first time the team has used the Coliseum turf this spring. As anticipation builds for USC’s spring game on April 23, head coach Lincoln Riley said this is no time for the Trojans to take their foot off the gas.
“It’s been a really positive spring practice up to this point, but we can’t coast in,” Riley said. “Losers coast in. Average programs coast in.”
That’s been a common thought from Riley as the Trojans crept over the midway point of spring ball. Last week Riley said the Trojans needed to have a “great back half” of spring practices.
“Second half of spring,” Riley said. “This is where average teams start to fall off and great teams start to separate themselves.”
Riley continues to say positive things about the development of the team and roster this spring.
“We think the ceiling of this team is getting higher and higher as we continue to add pieces, so we feel like we’re building to something,” Riley said. “We’re not near what we can be, but we are making a lot of progress. The guys work hard. The guys seem to really enjoy practice, seem to really enjoy each other.”
Riley said the constant frustration as a coach is still present because he always sees room for improvement and wants thing to be better than they are. He acknowledged the steps forward they’ve taken, but seemed to have a little motivation lined up for his offense moving forward.
The offense and defense have battled each other to mostly a standstill this spring, according to Riley. He said there’s been a constant flow back and forth between the two sides. But on Tuesday, Riley said the offense started strong, but the defense rose up to own the day.
“The defense really closed strong and defensively overall certainly won the day,” Riley said. “Defense had a pretty long period of time where they sustained some pretty good play.”
Shifting Focus to the Spring Game
Riley and the team aren’t looking past anything this spring. He’s consistently said there is no real goal for the collection of 15 practices. Rather, they have thing they want to work on each day and each practice, in that moment. But Tuesday in the Coliseum allowed Riley to look forward just a bit at what the scene might be like in two Saturdays, when USC fans can see the team in person for the first and only time before the fall season opener against Rice.
“Hopefully we’ll have a great day out here in a couple Saturdays,” Riley said. “You get one real chance to do it in front of a crowd. I think there’s a lot of energy about the program right now. I think there’s a lot of energy, I know, within the walls. [I] think the outside is ready to see this group, kind of get that first look. And this group is ready to see this place get back to what it should be.”
Riley also seemed to speak directly to USC fans wondering if they should get out to the Coliseum on the 23rd. It’s clearly a “Yes” vote from the Trojans’ head coach.
“We get we’ve got to do our part, that’s the most important thing,” Riley said. “But people coming out, seeing this team, continuing the momentum we have in the program right now is very, very important.”
