USC Announces Spring Ball Dates
The USC Trojans are officially on the schedule for 2022 spring ball, in what will be one of the most anticipated practice slates in all of college football in recent memory.
USC will open practice on Tuesday, March 22 and culminate spring ball with its Spring Game on Saturday, April 23. That Spring Game will take place at 12:00 pm PT at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Gates will open for that game at 10:30 am PT and it will be broadcast live on ESPN, with Matt Barrie, Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway and Molly McGrath. USC’s game will be the only spring game shown live on ESPN in 2022, according to a press release from USC. All football season tickets holders and USC students will receive complimentary tickets.
That will be USC fans’ only opportunity to see the Trojans in person this spring. Because USC also announced that every other spring practice will be closed to the general public.
What it Means for the Trojans
The USC team has been going through winter conditioning since January and should be ready to hit the field for real practices. It feels like forever since we’ve been able to talk about a real football practice. That’s largely because USC did not qualify for a bowl game last year and the season ended abruptly all the way back on December 4.
This spring ball session will be critical for the Trojans. New head coach Lincoln Riley probably deserves a honeymoon period after inheriting a 4-8 program that lost its most talented offensive and defensive players early to the NFL Draft. But that’s not the message Riley is sending. Riley and the coaches believe they can win quickly with the Trojans. As in, this coming fall. To do that, significant steps need to be taken this spring.
It starts with a quarterback competition between incoming transfer Caleb Williams and second-year returner Miller Moss. Williams, the former No. 1 overall recruit, is fully expected to land the starting job.
Elsewhere on offense, there are very few positions set. Impactful transfers are looking to make noise at running back, wide receiver and offensive line.
The defense needs an overhaul. Last year’s group that was shredded constantly through the air and on the ground. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch will look to implement an attacking defense at USC. It led to quick and positive results when he arrived previously at Oklahoma.
Defensive ends Tuli Tuipulotu and Nick Figueroa are back. There is talented youth in the secondary. And transfers will impact position battles along the defensive line, at multiple linebacker spots and at cornerback.
This will be a fascinating look at just how much ground the Trojans can cover this spring in the same 15 practices afforded to every team in the country.
