University Southern California Trojans
Lincoln Riley “Extremely Impressed” by Development of USC Football’s Secondary
April 01, 2023 | Football
News & notes from USC's eighth practice of spring:
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USC added an exclamation point to its 2023 recruiting class Thursday (March 30) through the commitment of Duce Robinson, the nation's No. 1 tight end prospect. While Robinson comes out of the prep ranks as a tight end, the 6'6 Arizona native has the versatility to explore a bigger role in USC's offense. Head coach Lincoln Riley expanded on the topic Saturday:
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"He's not going to be an every down and on the ball tight end. I think we know that, no question," Riley explained. "And so, I would imagine he's a guy we'll have the opportunity to move around and do some unique things with because from a matchup standpoint, you can go out recruiting four or five years and not see that combination. It's a very unique combination, the skill set that he has. And then on top of it, just a tremendous person, and a great family."
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Robinson is a talented, two-sport player in both football and baseball. Riley shared how his previous experience with two-sport athletes helped with Robinson's recruitment:
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"Duce has big goals in both sports and I think there was some comfort factor there because I think it matched some of the other guys that we've been able to coach," Riley said. "So we were able to have very real conversations about that. I think the expectation is, I certainly don't pretend to be a baseball expert, but I think a good chance that Duce is going to get drafted and very potentially a good chance that he gets drafted high."
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"I think if that's what happens, I think his intention is to sign a professional contract and then play college football, which he can do now," Riley continued. "So if that does not happen then I think all options are on the table in terms of potentially playing both here at SC. So we'll see how it evolves."
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Half of Saturday's practice featured scrimmage periods, according to Riley. The head coach shared how he is already seeing the impact of USC's roster evolution in Year 2:
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"We're a little bit stronger. There's just a little bit more depth when you put the twos, which we don't really even know who the twos are. But when the second wave of players goes in, there's not as much of a drop off," Riley explained. "There's just more good players on the field. And then some of the players that we brought back are more physically developed and a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger. We feel a little sturdier, I guess, just to me as a whole, which obviously was a goal for us and we talked a lot about it in the offseason."
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USC is looking for more production out of its nickel position in Year 2. Riley highlighted two Trojans Saturday who have shined so far this spring:
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"The [nickel] spot last year was inconsistent. Had some good moments but we weren't productive enough at that spot," Riley said. "And obviously that's a super key position in our defense. It gets a lot of action. Those guys got to do a lot. They've got to blitz, they've got to be in run fits, they've got to cover. They're right in the middle of the action."
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"I've been extremely impressed with both Jaylin [Smith] and Latrell [McCutchin] here this spring. They have both taken some big, big steps," Riley shared. "Jaylin has had a fantastic first half of spring and really Latrell has too. Those are guys I've put in the category right now with Ceyair [Wright] in that they've just made some big improvements. They've improved their bodies. They both got to play a good amount last year. Both still relatively young guys that figured out a little bit of what it takes and what it's like. They've had good off seasons and really you just see those two guys playing with more confidence right now."
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Riley also gave an update on USC's practice schedule. The Trojans opted to reschedule Thursdays practice, Riley explained, in order to rest certain parts of their roster:
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"We've been a little limited at some of the positions and that's why we changed practice the other day. You only get 15 of these. We've got our window of time and so we'll end up doing a four day practice week, obviously one of the next two weeks to make up for it. But we had just enough guys out in a couple of key positions that were tough to practice with."
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"We gave our guys a chance to recover a little bit and hopefully we'll get that practice on the back end with a few more bodies and they're ready to go," Riley later continued. "But yeah, it's been good. We're improving…So eight practices in, we're happy."
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