University Southern California Trojans
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Practice Report: USC's Lincoln Riley Familiar with UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson
November 15, 2022 | Football
Lincoln Riley first scouted against Dorian Thompson-Robinson ages ago — or, at least, that's what it feels like for No. 7 USC football's head coach. The history between the two dates back to 2018, when No. 16 UCLA's starting quarterback made his collegiate debut against Riley's team.
"He must have been about 15 at that time, it feels like! Good lord," Riley said in disbelief with a smile.
Though Riley witnessed the very start of Thompson-Robinson's collegiate career, Riley shared that the quarterback's talent was evident.
"He was impressive from the jump. He really was," Riley said. "He's a really good player, you could tell he had some real ability there at a young age."
"[It] looks like he's just continued that trajectory," Riley continued. "A talented player like him and being coached by the guys that are coaching him, it's no surprise that he has."
The quarterback is in Year 5 under the tutelage of Chip Kelly, UCLA's head coach who's had "a huge impact on the game" of college football, according to Riley. Thompson-Robinson is obviously much more comfortable in Kelly's system than he was in 2018, now on the verge of ten thousand passing yards as a Bruin.
"When you watch him you see a guy that's played a lot of ball and played a lot of ball in that system, knows it extremely well, has a lot of confidence in it," Riley said. "They've got good playmakers around him. He's obviously had a phenomenal year."
Four years, a global pandemic, and a coaching change later, Thompson-Robinson and Riley somehow find themselves in a familiar scenario on Saturday. The stakes are higher this time around, however, as the Riley's Trojans would punch their ticket to the Pac-12 title game with a win over UCLA. It's a fitting and dramatic finale for a unique journey between a rival player and coach.
"It's fun to see, I've seen the beginning and I'll see a little bit of the end," Riley said of the quarterback's career. "I'm always a fan of guys that lead and play the game at a high level. It's been fun to watch him."
Notes from USC's Tuesday practice of UCLA Week
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Riley shared an update on the status of several injured Trojans:
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On wide receiver Mario Williams and inside linebacker Eric Gentry:
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"They're doing well," Riley said. "They're practicing, progressing…We're hopeful that we'll be able to rep them both in the game."
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On defensive back Max Williams:
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"Max is doing well," Riley said. "[He] benefitted from the game being on Friday, the extra day in there. He's doing well and able to participate some which has been a positive."
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Inside linebacker Shane Lee shared his initial reaction to his first crosstown showdown:
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"I guess the first thing I noticed was I walked outside after the Monday morning meeting, I saw the statue was taped up," Lee said. "I thought UCLA did it or something, but they told me it's just for protection. So that really set the mood, you know, for the weekend. It's just been awesome. It's always about us, and it's always about what we're doing, but you definitely feel the energy.
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Offensive lineman Justin Dedich shared how the team will miss running back Travis Dye following his season-ending injury:
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"He's just a great leader," Dedich said. "He easily could have taken my captain spot any day of the season. He's just an unbelievable leader that we're gonna miss a lot out not only on the field, but -- he's going to be around but, man, his words are encouraging. They lift our guys up. So [I] can't wait until he comes back out here and we get to see him."
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