Players Mentioned
Lincoln Riley Deems USC Football’s Running Backs as a “Real Bright Spot” So Far in Spring Camp
March 28, 2023 | Football
News & notes from USC's seventh practice of its 2023 Spring Camp:
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Head coach Lincoln Riley shared some insight Tuesday of how USC is using running back Raleek Brown this spring. The talented sophomore has the ability to play more than one position this fall:
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"We've definitely been able to do more [with Raleek]. He has a much better base understanding of the entire offense and how that functions," Riley explained. "We're using the spring to move him around to experiment, and I'm gonna try to get a full idea of what he really can handle. He's done a nice job of that."
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"You've got to give a lot of credit to some of these guys that do so much on a Saturday afternoon or on a Sunday afternoon because everybody sees the skill set, but they don't realize mentally what that takes to play multiple positions and to play them well is so tough mentally," Riley continued. "And that's why there's not many guys who can do it, because the physical and mental skills combined, they don't exist very often. And we've been pushing him mentally. He's done a good job responding. We're putting him in some different positions and he's learning but also he has a natural athleticism and explosion that makes him fit in a lot of places."
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Part of the reason why USC's coaches are able to "experiment" with Raleek Brown's role this spring is due to the fact that the team's running back room has a sizable amount of depth. Riley highlighted the Trojans' running backs and their efforts on Tuesday:
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"That room has been a real bright spot here in camp. We've been impressed with the older guys in that room that get a little bit more known," Riley said. "Certainly their skill sets are improving, and then I've been really impressed with the two young guys. Every day those guys show up and make some big plays. With having five guys back there that we're pretty excited about, it's allowed us to move Raleek around. We'll evaluate it we're just trying to put a lot on tape, expose these guys to a lot and then we'll start to narrow down as we get closer to fall."
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USC added veteran defensive coach Greg Brown to its staff as a senior analyst this past offseason. Riley shared how and why Brown became part of the Trojans' staff:
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"It can be really valuable to have a guy like that, that's extremely experienced," Riley explained. "That's been responsible for the whole thing. That comes in can offer some fresh perspective, a fresh set of eyes, that's not solely responsible for one position group. He's really an overall advisor for our defensive staff. For myself, he's a great set of eyes. He's somebody our defensive coaches can sit in there and bounce ideas back and forth off of. He can give them an open honest opinion."
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"We vetted several different people on this. It's hard to find somebody that's good enough and experienced enough that has the right demeanor to come in and do this," Riley continued. "Because you got to fit well with the staff. Also you got to fit well within our culture of what we're trying to build here too. Greg really wanted to be here and just blew us away with his experience and his attitude, and he's been a great fit."
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Redshirt sophomore Lake McRee represents USC's sole healthy, scholarship tight end this spring and is taking a large bulk of reps as a result. Riley was lightheartedly candid when asked how he feels about that position group's depth:
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"Not good! No, no," Riley said with a smile. "Lake has been awesome. Lake is playing at a high level. He has really improved. He's improved physically. What he did last year for us was impressive, especially considering all the time he had missed. I know we talked a lot about it. The fact that he's had some consistent offseason work and physical work under his belt. We've been able to do a little bit more with him you know this spring, which was expected. He's been really good."
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McRee shared on Tuesday his experience with taking on a bigger role this spring:
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"It's definitely a lot more work than I'm used to, but I think it's good for me. Like this is still an offense that I'm still not learning, but I'm getting more familiar with," the tight end said. "So I think this spring will be really good for me to get all those reps. We have a pretty shallow room, but I'm happy to get all these reps. Better that than the alternative of not getting any reps, so that's the way I'm looking at it."
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McRee was absent for Riley's inaugural spring camp last season due to injury, so the tight end has been on a slight journey of "catch up" to feel comfortable in USC's offense. McRee shared an evaluation of his play in 2022 on Tuesday:
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"I think I was just getting more familiar with the offense as the season went on," McRee explained. "I missed last spring, so I didn't get that advantage of being able to learn the offense during that time. I kind of had to learn it all during fall camp. I think I just got more familiar with it, got more chemistry with some of the guys including Caleb, and I'm still trying to build that right now. I think this season I'll be able to build off of the end of last season."
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Center Justin Dedich knows first-hand what to expect from USC's defensive line this spring. He shared his initial observations of Arizona transfer Kyon Barrs on Tuesday:
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"Kyon, man, he's a special talent. He's made me better already in these six, seven practices," Dedich said. "Just how strong he is. His inside hands, he's everything, feet. He's an elite player and it's definitely making me a lot better as a player every day. It's kind of cool because we grew up in the same valley. He's from Murietta, I'm from Temecula, so I played him I think when he was a young buck and so that's kind of a cool little transition."
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Dedich gave an update on how USC's new-look offensive line is coming along just seven practices in:
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"It's definitely a transition. I've been with those other guys and calls and stuff, we knew each other pretty well," Dedich said of USC's departures at offensive line. "It's a good thing that we have spring ball. Getting to know each other, getting to know how each other works, and calls. Just little, minor details that were that we're working on right now, but grateful for these 15 practices, because we've improved already from one to seven drastically."
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