Lincoln Riley discusses arrival of wide receiver Jordan Addison

USC landed one of the biggest names in the transfer portal late this cycle after Jordan Addison announced his decision to head out West. The 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner starred at Pitt last season and drew heavy interest from Alabama, Texas and others before landing beside Caleb Williams in Lincoln Riley’s offense.

Now ready to take the Pac-12 by storm in Year One, Lincoln Riley discussed the arrival of Jordan Addison with CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd.

“Well first I think it’s exciting to have him here,” said Riley. “I think to have a guy that was one of the best players in college football, that ultimately chose that he wanted to be here at USC, that believed in us, that believed in this program – kind of what we were doing before we’ve even played a game. I think it’s exciting. I think guys like that, it sends a message to future recruits and to guys looking at it that here’s a guy that could’ve went and played football anywhere that he wanted to after the year that he had and he chose here.

“It’s going to be exciting to put him into our offense. Obviously, our offense has a tremendous history of great wide receivers – guys that have produced and become tremendous players both at this level and in the NFL. And it’s fun to watch all the great things that he did at Pitt last year and to think about him in our offense. It’s exciting because he brings instant productivity, he’s a very well-balanced receiver, very good after the catch.”

Lincoln Riley denies Jordan Addison rumors

One of the dominant storylines throughout Jordan Addison’s transfer portal tenure was tied to big-money NIL deals.

“That’s the internet,” said Riley. “That’s Twitter, that’s people that can say whatever they want with no responsibility attached behind it. This kid is all ball, that’s why he’s at USC.”

In addition, he described the things that do matter to Addison as he looks to improve and establish a career for himself at the next level.

“I think the fun thing about Jordan is he came up on his official visit and he didn’t want to talk about anything else other than football,” said Riley. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had a more football-centered visit that I can remember through all the years. All he wanted to do was watch tape and talk ball, and talk about how we thought that he could improve and how he could help the team.

“That was one of the first questions he asked was, ‘how do you think the team will accept me coming in?’ So that shows you what kind of kid that we brought in here. And excited to see what he can do to help our team and our program. We’re excited about what we can do to help him in his ultimate goal of continuing to become an elite receiver and continue to grow in that role.”