Lincoln Riley opens up on the message that Solomon Byrd's strong performance sends

As USC dove into the transfer portal to rebuild the roster this past offseason, Solomon Byrd flew under the radar. The former Wyoming defensive lineman played in eight games last season before leaving to join forces with Lincoln Riley and the Trojans.

Byrd played just five snaps against Rice in Week 1, but got thrown into a big role after Romello Height suffered an injury. He made the most of his opportunity against Fresno State — and he could be looking at a starting job as a result.

Byrd had four tackles and a key sack in USC’s 45-17 victory last week. It was quite the breakout performance, and Riley said it’s the type of game that can send a message to other players waiting their turn to get onto the field.

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“I think there are so many guys in a college football locker room right now that are in that same position or something like it that he was,” Riley said. “For every guy you see out there making plays, there’s going to be two or three others at every single position that they want to be the ones out there. That’s just the nature of the business. We’re not rolling in with 50 guys to play a game. You have big rosters, you have a lot of people, you have a lot of people that want to play.

“For everybody, it is, it’s an inspiration. It’s a message to keep going because you don’t know when that opportunity’s going to come. And Solomon was ready when his showed up and he’s really just taken it and he’s ran with it and he’s created more and more opportunities for himself, and it can happen that quick. There are just so many guys that maybe, the first [part] of the season doesn’t go their way, and then all of a sudden, bam.”

Riley also discussed the parallels between Byrd and former Oklahoma wide receiver Marquise Brown. Brown was not a key part of the offense initially, but worked his way into becoming a 1,000-yard receiver. In fact, Riley used Brown’s journey as an example for his team, and it fits perfectly with Byrd’s path.

“We showed the team … Marquise Brown, his first year for us, didn’t hardly play in the first six games,” Riley said. “Then, in the last seven games of the year, he had over 1,000 yards receiving and just changed his life. Literally, changed his life. For six games, he was a backup and I think two or three of the first six, he didn’t play one snap. Not one snap, and ended up over 1,000 yards in a season.

“You never know when it can go. You’ve just got to keep working.”