Lincoln Riley shares what he's learned since USC put on pads at practice

As college football teams all over the country are currently going through their spring practice periods, there’s one program in particular that’s had a lot of attention throughout the last month – USC. With former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley now leading the Trojans, expectations are at an all-time high for him to get the program back on track – and that all starts with the way spring practices are coordinated.

While Riley has shared on multiple occasions that it’s his job to restore USC’s program to where it once was, the coach has had his Trojans’ squad going full-speed during spring practices as they prepare for the upcoming 2022 season. As the team began working in full pads last week, the competition level has only improved for USC.

Meeting with the media on Saturday after the Trojans’ sixth spring practice, Riley shared what he has learned from his team since they’ve put on pads.

“I think you’re always excited to see how they’re going to compete,” Riley said. “More than anything, we have competitions throughout the offseason, but it’s different when pads get on. It just shows up differently. I think this team’s competitive nature once the pads have gotten on has risen. It’s been very positive, so I think that’s been good.

“Position groups – as you can imagine, nobody’s been just perfect, nobody’s been horrible. There’s a lot of promise. I think each group has had some of their moments where they’ve played very well, also some moments where’s there’s no doubt we have to continue to improve. So, I would say as expected.”

USC, which is coming off a 4-8 season in 2021, is scheduled to open the Lincoln Riley era on Saturday, Sept. 3 against Rice at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. But before then, the Trojans have plenty of work to do throughout the remainder of spring practice and later in fall camp.