Lincoln Riley returns to USC practice, being treated for pneumonia
USC head coach Lincoln Riley returned to the practice field with the Trojans on Wednesday after missing Monday and Tuesday practices with what was, at that time, an undisclosed illness. USC announced Wednesday that Riley is being treated for pneumonia.
Riley missed Monday’s practice and his scheduled appearance on the Trojans Live radio show. He wasn’t at Tuesday’s practice, of which portions are open to media.
In his absence, USC responded by elevating wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons into the acting head coach role and announced they were looking into going through compliance to elevate analyst Kliff Kingsbury into an on-field coaching role. That won’t happen now with Riley back on the field.
Simmons and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch spoke to the media on Tuesday and downplayed any issues stemming from Riley’s absence. They had been in communication with him throughout his time away from the practice field.
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“At the end of the day, this is Coach Riley’s team,” Simmons said. “We view this really as a player getting dinged up during a game or during practice. The next guy’s stepping up. It’s not just myself. It’s everybody — our players and coaches, everybody on the staff. We’re holding it down until he’s able to resume his duties.”
USC travels to Cal next
USC will look to end a two-game losing streak as the Trojans will next travel to Berkeley this weekend to take on the Cal Golden Bears. The Trojans got blown out at Notre Dame two weeks ago, 48-20, and then dropped a last-second heartbreaker at home to Utah this past weekend.
This looks like it could be the final game of the regular season in which the Trojans enter as significant favorites. USC finishes its season the final three weeks with a home game against No. 5 Washington, a road trip to No. 8 Oregon and then the finale in the Coliseum against No. 23 UCLA.
