Lincoln Riley responds to brisket criticism: 'I need to improve my photography skills, not my barbecuing skills'

Back in 2021, Lincoln Riley decided to share a picture of his brisket online for Easter. It’s the kind of thing you do when you’re excited for a meal or proud of what you were able to accomplish. The only problem was that the brisket didn’t look particularly good and went viral.

Now, at his first Big Ten Media Days, Riley has responded to the criticism for his brisket, blaming the photograph and not the foot itself.

“I need to improve my photography skills, not my barbecuing skills,” Lincoln Riley said. “Absolutely, I got to work on it a little bit this summer.”

If you don’t remember what Lincoln Riley’s brisket looked like, you can see it’s still posted to his Twitter/X account, here:

Happy Easter‼️
👨‍🍳 pic.twitter.com/ZRkZnjXOVX

— Lincoln Riley (@LincolnRiley) April 4, 2021

Perhaps the photography skills need improvement too. However, it’s hard to argue that the brisket in this photo doesn’t look overcooked. At the same time, Riley is the one who ate it, so it probably comes down to his word on it.

A native of West Texas who went to Texas Tech, it’s not a surprise that Lincoln Riley takes pride in his ability to cook a brisket, but given the schedule of a college coach, he probably doesn’t have a ton of time to practice. So, there’s no shame in being a little rusty with his focus on the program.

This also, notably, wasn’t the only time Lincoln Riley posted a picture of some food on social media that did the rounds and got attention. He also posted a tuna steak that was seared and sliced. That garnered some negative attention too, but less so than the brisket. Maybe the issue there was the picture too. On the other hand, it also looked like the issue was that his knife wasn’t sharp enough.

Lincoln Riley reveals USC’s biggest adjustment to Big Ten conference

On the field, Lincoln Riley is adjusting USC to the Big Ten, where he says the biggest adjustment is getting ready for new teams.

“Yeah, it’s unique,” Riley said on Get Up. “I think the college football purists and all of us are still maybe getting used to these new conferences and these new matchups. I do think it’s going to be an incredible thing and we’re looking forward to the matchups. I think the biggest adjustment has been getting ready for these new teams, these new coaches, playing in different venues. I think just all the new challenges that honestly all of us in this league are getting ready to face not just this year, but over the next couple of years.”