USC Spring Ball Week 1 Photo Gallery
The USC Trojans are two practices into their first spring ball under new head coach Lincoln Riley. There are new faces everywhere as the Trojans brought in 13 new players via the transfer portal and added two early enrollee high school signees. The entire strength and conditioning staff and all but one assistant coach are new. Here is a look at a few selected photos from the first two spring ball practices of the Lincoln Riley era at USC.
Quarterback Caleb Williams is the headliner for the Trojans right now. He was the big recruiting win in the transfer portal and has hit the ground running at USC. The media has not been able to see full practice reps to this point, but Williams has already shown what he can do on the field as a true freshman at Oklahoma. Just watching warmups and individual drills, it’s easy to see what he brings to the position. He’s also shown he can handle media responsibilities with a cool, collected appearance following the first practice.
The Trojans lost their two leading rushers from last season. In fact, now that Brandon Campbell made the decision to enter the transfer portal, the Trojans’ returning rushing production at the running back spot all belongs to Darwin Barlow. The Trojans went out and landed two productive, veteran backs out of the portal in Austin Jones and Travis Dye. That’s setting up a very interesting spring at the position. USC is looking to install a physical, downhill running game but has to do so with just three scholarship backs.
There are four new faces among the wide receivers this spring. Incoming transfers Brenden Rice, Terrell Bynum and Mario Williams will have an opportunity to jump into the rotation or grab a starting spot. The Trojans need someone to take the lead because there is a huge hole created by the departure of Drake London. Early enrollee freshman C.J. Williams is also looking good already.
Head coach Lincoln Riley has been fun to watch during the first two practices. He is as involved as any coach and has occasionally inserted himself into drills. Players haven’t been able to simply go through the motions even on the simplest things. Below, he’s playing the role of a defender getting in the way of a crossing C.J. Williams, giving in a game-like look and making the freshman adjust his route.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Donald Trump
Executive Order on college sports
- 2
Caleb Wilson
UNC star injured in practice
- 3New
Darius Acuff
Hogs guard out vs. Mizzou
- 4
Brian Kelly
Addresses coaching future
- 5Hot
New CFB hires
Poised to make major impact
Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
The defensive line welcomes position coach Shaun Nua and transfers Tyrone Taleni and Earl Barquet. But that group might go as far as two returning veterans take it, in Nick Figueroa and Tuli Tuipulotu.
Linebacker Shane Lee has made a huge impact on this program in a short time. He’s a likely starter at inside linebacker already and is mentioned consistently as a team leader. He’s only been at USC a few months after transferring in from Alabama.
Kicker Alex Stadthaus entered the transfer portal back in December as the thought of another season at USC as a walk-on, and the tuition payments that come with it, was enough to make him search out scholarship opportunities. But he found one right at home. He said Riley approached him with a scholarship offer, making the decision to return to USC an easy one.
