Lincoln Riley on Big Ten rivalries, the USC quarterback room and building his defensive staff

USC head coach Lincoln Riley joined The Hard Count with On3’s J.D. PicKell on Thursday and touched on a number of topics, including developing new rivalries in the Big Ten, what the USC quarterback room looks like heading into spring ball, and how he went about building his new defensive staff.

Here’s a look at all the topics covered.

Riley on USC’s offseason mentality

Riley was asked if there’s an “extra edge” to the team during these winter conditioning sessions following USC’s 8-5 season in 2023.

“There is, without a doubt,” Riley said.

From moving to the Big Ten, to building the roster more based on high school recruiting, to adding so many new coaches, to wanting to improve dramatically on the defensive side of the ball, there is an additional intensity level this offseason.

“We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us,” Riley said. “There’s certainly an edge about this program. And I think, honestly, it started even before this offseason. I think it really started going into our bowl game. You saw the way that our team performed and that team was pretty representative of the team that we have kind of right now, obviously with some new faces. But there’s been an edge and an aggressiveness in this program since the day that the regular season ended. And we’re just hoping to continue to build on that leading into spring ball.”

Riley on the state of the USC quarterback room right now

USC brings back Miller Moss after a six-touchdown performance in the Holiday Bowl against Louisville. He’s the presumed starter at this point. But the Trojans also added former UNLV starter Jayden Maiava from the transfer portal. He brings a lot of 2023 experience and some impressive tools and traits for the position.

“We’re gonna let the guys in the room compete,” Riley said of the spring ball plan at quarterback. That’s a hallmark of all the great quarterback rooms that we’ve had, other great position rooms we’ve had. I think it’s been a hallmark of this program forever and ever. I think to be a starter at place like USC, you’ve got to go compete. You’ve got to go earn it. We want that to be part of every single position room, so why not do it the one that’s kind of at the center of all of this? And so absolutely, those guys are going to compete we feel like we’ve got great options in the room.”

Adding Maiava brings a different feel than if USC had added an established veteran like former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, who would have expected the starting job. But Riley said the Trojans still wanted a young guy capable of pushing for playing time right now, who come “come in and be a factor in the job.”

But Moss more than proved himself during the time he was established as the starter.

“We couldn’t have been more proud of the way that Miller really led the team, the program in a lot of ways, into that bowl game, and the way he played,” Riley said.

Riley on assembling the defensive staff

Riley said making a wholesale change in staff on the defensive side of the ball is “never easy.”

“But it does give you an opportunity to take a step back and really say, ‘Where do we want this to go?'” Riley said.

Even more than the philosophy or the system, Riley said the one word that kept sticking out to him was “development.”

“In this day and age, with all this change, I really feel like that can be one of our many advantages here,” Riley said. “We really tried to go after guys that we thought were just completely elite at developing defenses, defensive players and individual position groups.”

Riley said they “shot for the stars” and didn’t take anybody off the table with regard to whether anybody would there there was a chance or not at bringing that coach in.

“We’re really, really proud of how the staff has come together,” Riley said. “And now it’s time to go put results on the field.”

Riley on developing new Big Ten Rivalries

“I think the thing that excites you the most is the matchups, right?” Riley said of joining the Big Ten this season. It’s the new rivalries that are going to come out of this. The Rose Bowl has always been such a historic game within college football, and you think of all the great traditional Pac-12 and Big Ten matchups, all the great games that were spread out. Now you’re going to have those matchups every single year, you’re going to have them multiple times throughout the year, you’re going to have them at different people’s locations. You’re gonna have exciting teams that you’re bringing into your home spot, you’re going to go in into really cool road environments.

“So I think just the competition week in and week out, a chance to be a part of one of the top two college football conferences right now. I mean, I’m most excited about the challenge of the new coaches and new schemes that you go against. I mean, all of it man, I think the competitor in you just loves the opportunity that’s coming up.”

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