Lincoln Riley updates the status of Shane Lee entering Utah matchup

Shane Lee was expected to play last week against Washington State but was not able to get into the game for USC. Head coach Lincoln Riley said he was “too far in front” throughout the week of practice, with the linebacker dealing with a wrist issue. But now, Lee is on track to return for Saturday’s crucial Pac-12 South game vs. Utah.

Riley provided an update on Lee on Thursday, saying he’s “further along” than he was a week ago. The USC headman even thinks not playing last week was beneficial for the former Alabama transfer. Lee has not fully participated in practice but it’s been a better week.

“He’s further along certainly than he was,” Riley said. “We were a little surprised last week. Just, things didn’t progress the way that we expected. Fortunate you’re able to get through that game, win against a good opponent.

“Give Shane a little bit more time which is probably beneficial. I probably got too far in front of it last week. I feel better about it this week than I did last week. Hasn’t been a full participant but has been able to participate certainly more than he did last week.”

Potential cast could affect Shane Lee

With Lee having problems with his arm, Riley was asked how wearing a cast would potentially affect his play. Riley said there are so many different types of casts USC have at its disposal that they will be able to find one that suits Lee.

“It depends on the position,” said Riley. “There’s some that would be very, very difficult to do. A lot of it depends if you have anything going on with your hand. Lot of it depends on what style of protection you have to have. There’s so many different things for guys nowadays. I mean, they can do things with different fingers. Different type of material out there that are pretty minimal in terms of impact.”

Riley did reiterate that if Lee is in any kind of medical danger, he would not see the field vs. Utah. Protecting the linebacker will always be a priority.

“We certainly wouldn’t put somebody out there if we thought something medically was going to hold them back. Shane being no different. I think you try to find the best balance between something that’s going to work and protect what needs to be protected but also allow them to play. We’ll try to find that with anybody that’s got a hand issue. If it’s something that’s going to hold them back on the field then we wouldn’t play them.”

Lee has been part of the revamped USC defense under coordinator Alex Grinch. In five games, he has recorded 36 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, and 1.5 sacks. Even getting his hand on an interception, Lee has made a huge impact since arriving in Los Angeles.