USC football grateful for ‘massive progress’ as it opens first Big Ten preseason camp
The sun was just peeking over the USC campus Friday morning as Lincoln Riley made his way down the ramp from the McKay Center, twirling a whistle in his right hand, thinking about all that had changed in his time as the Trojans’ coach. This date — Aug. 2 — was circled on calendars across campus for more than two years after USC stunned the college sports world by announcing its move with UCLA to the Big Ten.
So many steps had been taken to prepare for this moment, so many logistics maneuvered, so many hurdles overcome, that it was easy in the moment, amid the swirling tides of a conference transition, to take for granted the new dawn now officially upon USC.
“It’s good to be back,” Riley said, just as the doors to USC’s practice field swung open.
Alas, very little was the same Friday as when Riley last left it last season, down to the yellow “B1G” logo on his red cutoff sweatshirt. Given how the last USC season ended, no one seemed to mind.
It wasn’t all that long ago that USC opened the McKay Center, lauding it at the time as a $70-million beacon of innovation for its football program. But the facility arms race in college football had already rendered it obsolete by the time Riley arrived. Now, at the start of his third season, a new turf practice field gleamed in the distance, where USC’s baseball field used to stand, a precursor to a $200-million performance center soon to be erected on the adjacent lot.
The facility, which Riley said was central to him accepting the job in 2021, won’t be finished until 2026.
“It’s just another obvious sign of massive progress all the way around,” Riley said. “You want your facilities … to mirror the program, and how important the program is to the school, to Los Angeles, to college football, to history, all the success it’s had, like, you want that to be a reflection.
“You’re just reminded of the commitment. It’s not like we got a bunch of free land just lyin’ around here, so I mean, a lot of places it’s, ‘Oh, well, we’ll just go buy up this cornfield and we’ll build this thing.’ And here, as we all know, our cornfields cost a little bit more.”
USC coach Lincoln Riley said the Trojans have improved in every area and the suggestion the team won’t compete in the Big Ten is uninformed.
Other progress within the program hasn’t been as easy to quantify. While the perception has been that USC’s NIL operation is lagging substantially behind its Big Ten counterparts, USC leaders used Day 1 in their new conference to trumpet “substantial” improvements in the space. Athletic director Jennifer Cohen said Friday in a statement that USC’s top collective, House of Victory, had more than doubled its total funds from 2023 to 2024, which put USC “in the upper tier of NIL collective support nationally.”
With that increase in mind, Riley was asked Friday if he’s satisfied with where USC stands in NIL.
“I’m not happy with it — I’m thrilled with it,” Riley said. “We’re talking substantial, substantial gains, momentum — and not just in the dollar figure but how we operate — the confidence of our team and our program in it, of our recruits, I mean, it’s just, [confidence] couldn’t be higher.”
Whether the same can be said for the on-field product remains to be seen.
Though, Riley wouldn’t name a new starting quarterback Friday, even if every possible sign points toward Miller Moss taking the reins.
USC coach Lincoln Riley has altered his roster ahead of the Trojans’ first Big Ten season. The revamped team faces questions entering preseason camp.
Riley said instead that USC would “rep these guys until we feel separation, and not try to factor in too much of what happened before.”
“Miller had the best spring — no question if we were playing at that point, he would’ve been the starter,” Riley said. “But in my history, a lot changes. You’ve got some other guys in the room — Jayden [Maiava] and Jake [Jensen] — that have gotten better faster. We’re excited to see those guys, see what Jayden can do now after having an offseason where he can understand the offense and grow. My expectation is [Jayden] is going to be quite a bit better than what he was.”
Compared to other positions, however, quarterback feels like a picture of stability. The defensive front remains a major question mark. So is the offensive line, which didn’t add a single transfer option after an especially frustrating 2023 season.
USC did manage to add some much-needed heft to the roster, piling on an extra 1,400 pounds as a team since January, per Riley.
But as USC officially turns its attention to a new conference, Riley acknowledged the new weight, like the new turf and new facilities, is just the start of something.
“We’re obviously a lot bigger football team,” Riley said. “Now you have to go translate that. It’s a key step in the process, but there’s obviously a lot more to go.”
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
