Lincoln Riley delivers blunt assessment on depth problems

Spring ball has been Lincoln Riley’s first chance to see what all he has on his USC roster as he takes over the program. After the Trojans’ second practice in full pads, he addressed the depth problems on the roster.

Riley said there are some positions with openings, meaning he has a lot to figure out before the season gets started in the fall. That said, there’s still talent on the roster, which isn’t surprising considering how active Riley was in the transfer portal this offseason. However, he hinted more moves could be on the horizon even after spring practice ends.

“When you still have double-digit spots open, there’s going to be a lot of changes after spring ball,” Riley said. “There just is. To flip it around, I don’t know if there’s any position that we would say, ‘Nah, we wouldn’t take another guy there.’ We’ve got some talented rooms. We’ve got some rooms that can be good players.

“To be a championship group, you’ve got to have some really good players across the board, you’ve got to have quality depth, you’ve got to have quality competition. You’ve got to be able to rotate some guys and the quality on the field not go down. You’ve got to be able to withstand injuries. All those things that great teams do. I like the core of what we have right now. There’s way more out here that we like than we don’t like. But there’s still a lot of roster work yet to be done.”

USC brought in plenty of transfers this year

USC had the No. 51 recruiting class in the country this year, according to the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings, but brought in a massive haul in the portal. The Trojans have 13 transfers coming in this year, notably Oklahoma transfer quarterback Caleb Williams, who came in as the No. 1 player in the portal, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

Fellow Sooners transfer Mario Williams — the No. 13 transfer in the portal — is also in the fold at wide receiver and Oregon transfer running back Travis Dye came in, as well. Dye was On3’s No. 25-ranked player in the transfer portal this season.

Looking ahead to next year, USC is already in a good spot. The Trojans hold On3’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class from the Class of 2023, featuring two five-star recruits — including Five Star Plus+ quarterback Malachi Nelson, the No. 2 prospect in the nation, according to the On3 Consensus.