Joel Klatt believes Duce Robinson can make USC 'dangerous right away'

USC has offense, offense, and more offense. That’s the deal you make when you have Lincoln Riley as your head coach. They have some work to do defensively to get to that next level but, in general, the Trojans are going to win a bunch of ball games because of how they light up the scoreboard. With their first true freshman class of Riley’s coming in this spring, Joel Klatt believe the latest addition to that group, five-star tight end Duce Robinson, will only help to continue that trend.

Klatt spoke about the recent addition of Robinson during his show at FOX Sports earlier this week. He said the best years that he has covered a Riley-led team has featured a productive weapon at tight end. Considering the potential Robinson has, he believes he will have that same effect in Los Angeles as soon as next season.

“I saw Lincoln Riley, up close and personal, for a long time, covered this guy for a long time. When he has a dynamic, athletic tight end? His offense is at its best,” Klatt said. “Think about some of those tight ends they had at Oklahoma. And then you start looking at what their offense could be at USC? I think Duce gives them that ability early in his career.”

“He’s physically big enough to go play right away,” said Klatt. “And I think he can make them dangerous right away.”

Robinson will arrive in Hollywood as the No. 1 tight end in 2023 according to On3’s Industry Rankings. He was rated as a Top-25 prospect overall and the No. 1 player out of the state of Arizona. As a senior at Pinnacle High School, he caught 84 passes for 1,614 yards and 14 touchdowns en route to a state title appearance. Combining his skillset with his size at 6’6 is what will make him one of USC’s best incoming prospects next fall.

There is a concern that Robinson may not be with the Trojans as long as some anticipate considering a potential future in baseball. Still, for now, Klatt sees a very prime opportunity for him to make a difference for Riley and USC on offense.

Riley admits USC needed the size of Duce Robinson

USC and head coach Lincoln Riley picked up a late major signing this week with five-star tight end Duce Robinson.

Robinson joins a recruiting class that has signed a lot of elite pass catchers. One of the big things the class added was big pass catchers.

“I think with the last two spots in the high school class in terms of the offensive skill that was what we wanted to attack,” Riley said. “We got a little bit bigger there. Ja’Kobi Lane bring some of that. Certainly Duce brings some of that. Walker Lyons when he gets here certainly bring some of that. We’ve been able to add some real speed. We got some juice in that room. You start to mix up the skill sets. I think that could be a fun combination, obviously, to work with and we’re pretty pumped about it. I think he fits a need. And it’ll be fine to get him and Ja’Kobi and these guys here and throw them in the mix with our guys and feel like we’ll have a chance to put out a pretty good product in terms of our skill position.”