Lincoln Riley reveals right guard is a major position battle for USC

It’s early in fall camp at the moment, but USC head coach Lincoln Riley already sees a major battle playing out for the starting right guard spot. And right now, it seems the competition is wide open.

Speaking with reporters after a recent practice, Riley shared that four players are currently getting looks at the spot: Alani Noa, Micah Banuelos, Gino Quinones and Amos Talalele. All four have shown the Trojans head coach something good so far.

“It’s still — that’s one of the biggest position battles right now, no question. I mean, we’re trying to look at a lot of guys. We’re going to look at Amos, we’re going to look Alani and we’re going to look at Gino there. Micah Banuelos is really starting to make a move right now,” Riley said.

The reason for that improvement from Banuelos, Riley said, is mostly just him getting healthy.

“He’s healthy for the first time in a while,” Riley said. “Came in with an injury and we were able to practice him some last year but we knew eventually we were going to have to get it fixed and so we pulled the plug on that towards the end of last season so that he would be ready and it’s been fun to see him dive in, as well. So I think he’s certainly got a chance to factor in.”

When it comes to Talalele and Noa, Riley sees two players that are more than physically capable and ready to jump into the right guard spot in Year 2 in the program. But he’s not quite certain each player has the mental reps banked to not cause some issues if dropped in the lineup right now.

“Amos has worked hard to get himself in shape,” Riley said. “He’s a smart player, he’s a very talented player. I think his and really — him and Alani are both battling some of the same things. They have the ability, they have the mass, they have the movement skills. It’s just understanding the game. It’s understanding all the different things that can happen on plays. Being able to react. Being able to communicate, just on a consistent basis. They can do it now, so much better than when they were true freshmen.”

And for all four of the linemen competing to potentially start at guard, Riley is really trying to keep an eye on the whole picture and see which of the four have risen to the level of play necessary.

“But to get it up to the level of a starter is the big challenge right now,” Riley said.