USC OL Gino Quinones out for the year due to injury
USC will be without veteran offensive lineman Gino Quinones for the rest of the season. Quinones went down with a lower leg injury early in USC’s win against Nevada. Head coach Lincoln Riley announced the injury diagnosis following the Trojans’ practice on Tuesday.
“Tough news on Gino,” Riley said to open his media availability. ”Lower leg injury. He’ll miss the rest of the season.”
Quinones started the season opener at right guard for the Trojans, despite being listed as the backup on USC’s depth chart. Head coach Lincoln Riley said it came down to Quinones being one of the Trojans’ five most consistent linemen.
“Hate it for him,” Riley said. ”He’s really done an outstanding job becoming a part of our rotation, a valuable member.”
He didn’t start the second game, but came in as a backup at left guard. Quinones played the second series and again on the fourth series. That drive ended with a touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to Tahj Washington. But Quinones remained on the ground behind the play. Trainers came onto the field quickly and helped Quinones off the field.
This is a pretty significant blow to the Trojans’ offensive line. Quinones wasn’t locked in as a starter, but he was at the very least an extremely capable backup at center and both guard positions.
The Trojans will likely rely on Jarrett Kingston and Emmanuel Pregnon at guard, with true freshman Alani Noa and Andrew Milek as additional options.
“He’s in good spirits,” Riley said of Quinones. ”He’s gonna fight back. We’ll get him fixed up and we look forward to having him back. He’s going to be a big part of the future of the offensive lines of the teams here. Unfortunately it just won’t be on the field the rest of the season. Need some other guys to step up and we look forward to those guys doing so.”
