Lincoln Riley discusses where the USC offensive line stands after spring ball
Both lines of scrimmage received plenty of attention from Lincoln Riley and the USC staff this offseason and throughout spring camp. It’s been discussed how important those two groups are as the Trojans look to establish themselves as contenders in their inaugural Big Ten season. Following USC’s spring game this past weekend, Riley spoke about the offensive line and where it stands at this point.
Previously this spring, Riley said the offensive line was definitely a position the Trojans would recruit in the transfer portal. But he also sounds pleased enough with what USC currently possesses up front.
There are zero known entities along the offensive line for USC. Jonah Monheim is the most experienced of the group and considered the best lineman, but he’s moving inside to center — a position he’s never played in a game for the Trojans. Riley said things went well with that transition this spring.
“Jonah has taken to center honestly a little faster than I thought he would,” Riley said. “He’s been tremendous.”
The next key position to watch this spring was left tackle. Elijah Paige took over that spot for the bowl game against Louisville, impressed there, and continued that level of play this spring.
“We’re excited about Elijah,” Riley said. “He played really well in the bowl game and we’ve talked a lot about his progression through the year. Last year, being on scout team, he handled it well and he really grew. So now, it’s that next step for him and becoming a truly consistent and dominant player, which he has the ability to do. He’s had a good spring.”
Maybe the best bit of news regarding the USC offensive line this spring is the praise that Mason Murphy received at right tackle. That felt like one of the clear weak spots and an obvious position to target in the portal. His play won’t erase the need for depth or another guy there, but it’s good to set the floor for the position.
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“Both Elijah and [Mason Murphy] at right tackle have had outstanding springs,” Riley said. “We feel really good about those two in the way that they’ve progressed.”
Emmanuel Pregnon is a returning starter at left guard and Alani Noa is back for a second year after starting the opening game last season at right guard. Riley lumped those two in with second-year player Amos Talalele and Gino Quinones, who will return in the fall from a season-ending injury, and said the Trojans “like where we’re headed there” at guard.
USC has a couple of impressive-looking reserve tackles in Tobias Raymond and Justin Tauanuu, but as a redshirt freshman and true freshman, it’s a lot to expect them to jump in as the No. 2 options.
While there will still be starting lineup questions to figure out this fall, one thing Riley does anticipate from this offensive line is the increased size across all five positions will be a big help when it comes to reaching their goals on offense.
“I do think we’re going to have the ability right now to move more people off of the ball than we have had in the first two years,” Riley said. “We’ve got a little bit more mass and a little bit more girth with us. We’re starting to look more like the [offensive line] at USC ought to look like. I think that’s very exciting.”
