USC Fall Camp is Finished but Position Battles are Just Beginning for the Trojans

We’re inside of two weeks before the USC Trojans kick off their 2022 season in the Coliseum against Rice. Fall camp is finished and this USC team will now acclimate to a game-week schedule, balancing school and football. But things are far from complete when it comes to the depth chart. Head coach Lincoln Riley said after Saturday’s pratice that there are battles continuing all over the field. And most importantly, they won’t be finished when the Trojans take the field on September 3.

“The selection of this is an ongoing process,” Riley said. “It’s never final…One of the things we push the guys really hard on, and we’re going to have to do a tremendous job of is, the best teams continue to improve throughout the year.”

Riley said the key to generating improvement throughout the season is keeping competition high during practices. And players know that no spot is ever locked up or guaranteed.

“Is there going to be somebody this year that’s a starter in Game 1 that isn’t in Game 5?” Riley said. “And somebody that’s on the scout team or a two or three in Game 1 and all of a sudden becomes a starter?”

Riley said the biggest decisions as a coach right now is whether to put someone on the scout team or continue repping them with the offense and defense. But players should know that a scout team assignment now is not a season-long banishment to the bench. And Riley uses a real-world example of just how much a preseason scout team player can impact a team.

Heading into the 2017 season, Marquise Brown was a scout team receiver for Oklahoma. He got some time early in the season thanks to a few lopsided games, earned more reps by making plays in those appearances and continued to progress.

“Went from a two [or] three [on the depth chart], to probably one of the top two or three best receivers in that league within a matter of six weeks,” Riley said. “It can happen that fast. We’re goign to need it to happen that fast. It’s an underrated part of your roster. It’s not building ourselves to win one game. We’re building ourselves to try to win a lot of games and win games different ways and win games with different people. And to do that, you’ve got to develop an entire roster.”

Positions to Watch for the Trojans

Riley said both specialists battles are still worth watching. It would stand to reason that Alex Stadthaus would continue as the starting kicker after Riley recruited him back onto the roster and awarded him a scholarship. Likewise, Aadyn Sleep-Dalton seems to be the frontrunner at punter after Riley made some late maneuvering to get him on to the roster when plans to bring Atticus Betrams in fell through. But Riley wasn’t quite ready to call those, as kicker Denis Lynch and punter Will Rose continue to battle.

Riley said there are battles within the depth chart at a number of skill position spots and along the lines as well. He said there are several running backs, wide receivers and cornerbacks they want to use this season. The safety and nickel spots could see something of a rotation as well. And he said five or six defensive linemen who are “definitely” going to play.

“No doubts there guys are going to play,” Riley said. “It comes down to how much. Is a guy going to dominate the amount of reps?”

And then the left tackle position remains a focal point when it comes to offensive position battles. Riley said left guard Andrew Vorhees, right guard Justin Dedich, center Brett Neilon and right tackle Jonah Monheim have continued their strong play from the spring.

“I feel like those guys could play today and certainly be starters,” Riley said.

But that leaves Courtland Ford and Bobby Haskins jostling for the starting spot at left tackle. Haskins has a significant edge in overall experience, but Ford has it when it comes to this specific offense. Haskins wasn’t available during spring ball as he recovered from offseason surgery to repair an ankle injury he played through last season at Virginia. Regardless of how that competition shakes out, expect both to see the field in some capacity this season.

“They’re both going to have a role,” Riley said. “Wouldn’t rule out that one of them could potentially play another position. They’re both smart enough to do it. They’ve done it some for us in camp.”

Improving Across the Board

Riley has a tremendous collection of skill talent at his disposal this season. At quarterback, running back and wide receiver, USC might boast the best groups in the conference. There are some questionable areas that will need to step up and outplay their preseason prognostications. But Riley isn’t going to single any of those out. He sees the same challenges for every position group on the field.

Following Saturday’s final practice of camp, Riley was asked about his most pressing concern at this point in the season.

“I definitely get your question,” Riley said. “I just don’t look at it that way…Everybody’s got to improve. You’re going to say, the group right now that’s your best group…They’ve still got to get better. The group right now that’s your most thin or least talented group, they’ve still got to get better. The coach has still got to get better. To me, it would be just continuing our climb. We can’t think we’re at the season and now we just go play these games and we don’t have to keep pushing until we get better. We need everybody to continue to improve.”