Lincoln Riley updates Justin Dedich's status for Saturday against Washington State

USC Trojans junior Gino Quinones got the start at guard in place of Justin Dedich in Saturday’s win over Arizona State, sparking questions about the starter and team captain’s status moving forward. Head coach Lincoln Riley cleared it up with reporters on Monday ahead of the matchup versus Washington State in Week 6.

“He’s better, he’s better,” Riley said. “It’s good that we were able to hold him, where that leaves us, we’ll see. We’ll keep evaluating him throughout the week but we’re trying to be smart. We’d love for him to be able to play but on the flipside, there’s a lot of season left. You gotta be smart.”

As far as details of Dedich’s issue, Riley has described him as “banged up,” without mentioning specifics.

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Riley says offensive line headed in ‘good direction’

Riley espoused his concern about depth on the offensive line during the preseason but he’s had backups step up at multiple positions so far and maintained the integrity of the line play. On Saturday, quarterback Caleb Williams was able to throw for 348 yards while the Sun Devils got to him just once for a sack.

“I like some of the things we’ve done behind the scenes, some of those guys are developing,” Riley said. “Gino being able to come in and play for us was a big deal… We’re heading in a good direction, lucky thing is.. in terms of backups, we’ve stayed pretty healthy.”

Also on the offensive line, the Trojans returned Courtland Ford to the left tackle rotation. He missed the last two games with an ankle injury and split time on Saturday with Bobby Haskins.

USC will face the Washington State Cougars on Saturday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be nationally televised on FOX.