Lincoln Riley says USC is 'pleased' with incoming players, transfers

For the second year in a row, USC head coach Lincoln Riley has taken a deep dive into the NCAA transfer portal to improve his team. But this year, the evaluation process is a little bit different for the Trojans when it comes to new acquisitions. Still, Riley says his team is ‘pleased’ with the impact of the incoming transfer players.

“We’ve been pleased. We feel like we’ve landed on the right guys, the right kind of players, (and) right kind of people,” said Riley. “And I give all the guys that have come in a lot of credit because it’s a little different than coming in last year. Last year they (had) a little bit of blind faith with us. These guys got to see a little bit last year about what we were about. And they wanted to come in and be a part of, not now establishing, but building on the standard and taking this team where we want to go.”

Riley highlights top transfer players in the spring

So far, for the Trojans, there’s been a handful of players that have really set the tone during their spring practices. As Riley continued, he highlighted which players have really stood out during spring practice and in USC’s spring game on Saturday

“A great group of character guys. Certainly, MarShawn‘s added a lot to the backfield. Dorian (Singer) has been tremendous in the receiver room. Christian Roland; we’ve really been pleased with him and how he’s adapted. Mason Cobb has had a huge impact on our spring, without a doubt. You feel it when he’s on the field. So, there’s just more talent; there’s more competition. Every one of those skill spots across the board, you got to be able to play. But they’re making each other better, and they’re creating a lot of competition, which is very healthy.”

Riley and USC still have time to add even more talent through the NCAA transfer portal. The second portal window officially opened on Saturday, April 15. However, unlike the winter window which is open for 45 days, the college football spring transfer window is open a third of that time just 15 days closing on April 30. If there are any positions Riley feels like his Trojans are lacking to fill, now is the time to act. One more quality pickup might be the difference between another New Year’s Six bowl game and a College Football Playoff berth at the end of the season.