Lincoln Riley details what he’s learned about USC

When the USC head coach job opened, it was one of the highest-profile jobs available. A program with great tradition in one of the nation’s largest media markets makes for quite a sales pitch even despite a 4-8 record in 2021.

Nonetheless, it was surprising when Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma to become the new Trojans headman. But even despite everything he knew about the job, there were still things he didn’t know about it — and he opened up about them during an appearance on Always College Football.

“There’s a lot,” Riley said. “There’s so much to these jobs, there’s so many intricate details that you’re not necessarily going to find on a first day or find out as somebody in the profession that sees these other jobs. They’re some of the obvious parts that you see of this job. Obviously, the benefits of being in one of the biggest markets in the world. The great weather, the great history, the academics, all that stuff. I think kind of how interconnected the USC Trojan family is and the influence that it not only has on Southern California but really the entire West Coast, and I think you feel that.

“And I think the other thing is just how hungry everybody is here for this program to be back where it belongs and how important that is to not only everyone at SC, but I think just football on the West Coast in general. It’s important that your historically great programs perform that way. It’s a cool responsibility, it’s a fun place to be right now. There’s a lot of energy, a lot of excitement. We’ve loved every minute so far.”

Lincoln Riley reveals growth from Oklahoma to USC, improvement as a coach

But Riley got to work right away at USC, making some big splashes in the transfer portal to turn the roster around. He wants to get the program back on track, and getting a fresh start with a clean slate can allow him to do that.

“I think relative to the Playoff and competitiveness, I love the opportunity to build a roster that I think can be the nation’s best here,” Riley said on Always College Football. “That’s going to take time. We all understand that. That’s not a microwave process. But I think the roster that you can build here can be as good as anybody anywhere anytime. I’m so excited for what the future looks like from a roster standpoint.

“As far as myself, I think doing a better job and I think I’ve really tried to embrace this opportunity of … that blank canvas to really build a culture where we needed to make a lot of changes to be able to build that from the ground up. That’s challenged me in different ways and that’s been good for me.”