Lincoln Riley shrugs off USC receiver defections to portal, still expects to improve

When USC coach Lincoln Riley met with each of his wide receivers last week, he knew the room could be in for some upheaval.

This season hadn’t gone as hoped for most of the Trojans’ talented receivers. USC’s passing attack took a significant step back. Explosive plays disappeared from the offense. And until Makai Lemon emerged down the stretch, finishing with a team-leading 665 yards, none of USC’s vaunted quartet of sophomores took steps forward they were expected to make. Some even quietly blamed that fact on Riley’s insistence on regularly rotating receivers instead of leaning on a few.

But as USC’s young wideouts considered last week whether to stay or enter the transfer portal, Riley insisted Thursday that he didn’t set out to convince any receiver to stay. He simply set out in search of “alignment” between players and his plans at the position.

The school and his high-flying offense, he suggested, should be convincing enough.

Read more: UCLA and USC football transfer portal tracker: Who’s in and who’s out?

“Every player is going to look at their own situation and decide if they see that as a fit,” Riley said. “And so, you try not to get too attached to it. It’s just the world we’re in right now. I mean, there ain’t much convincing. I mean, this school’s history of receivers, our history of receivers, our history of throwing the ball at this school, there’s really not any better place to go play it.

“It’s just more looking for alignment, looking at guys’ progression, making sure we feel like it fits what we’re going to need to continue to push forward and get better.”

Whether that sort of pitch still works in the portal era, during which players presumably are seeking name, image and license payouts more than a tradition of glory, remains to be seen. Some in USC’s receiver room already have proven they are not aligned with Riley and his plans.

Senior Kyron Hudson was the first to announce he was entering the portal last week, shortly after meeting with Riley, while former five-star Duce Robinson joined him Tuesday, robbing the Trojans of two of their top five receivers.

Read more: USC coach Lincoln Riley suggests there is no reason to panic as Trojans shop in portal

Robinson’s entry into the portal was particularly shocking, given his extraordinary tools — at 6 feet 6 — and the fact that he’d proven himself as the Trojans’ best big-play threat downfield. His decision, according to a person familiar with his thinking, didn’t come down to do a potential NIL windfall elsewhere, like so many others in the portal. Nor did it come down to being shortchanged at USC.

His decision, the person said, stemmed primarily from concerns about his development under Riley and wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons.

Robinson played just 332 snaps this season, fifth among Trojans wideouts, and was targeted just 46 times. He wasn’t the only one who seemed to hit a snag in his development, either. Zachariah Branch, who was expected to become more of a complete receiver as a sophomore, regressed in a new role, while Ja’Kobi Lane blew up early in the season only to average just two catches per game during the final two-thirds of the season.

Lemon, who caught at least six passes in four of USC’s last eight games, wasn’t surprised to see Robinson and Hudson in the portal.

“Nah, not really,” he said. “They’re great players. Wish them the best of luck.”

Riley defended the group’s progress when pressed on it this week. He said his receivers “made some big improvements” over the course of the season and expects his wide rotation to “narrow down a little bit more,” addressing a point of contention among players.

Whether Robinson and Hudson would’ve fit in USC’s offense the same way, we’ll never know. Riley suggested that “tough decisions” had to be made when it came to retaining players.

“The reality is there’s just some guys that you just can’t or are not going to pay what they want,” Riley said during a radio appearance on USC’s “Trojans Live” on Monday. “If your value doesn’t match the money, then it’s not going to go well much longer, it’s not going to go further. There’s a cutthroat part of that that is just part of being a professional organization, and again, that’s what we’re becoming.”

Riley was asked Thursday if the departures of Robinson and Hudson stemmed from “tough decisions” made by him and his staff. He declined to comment on either.

“This is college football now,” Riley said. “There’s going to be tough decisions on both sides, and that’s why you can’t get too emotionally attached to it. They’re going to happen. Teams are going to adjust, players are going to adjust, and everybody’s going to move on. And that’s just the way of the world right now.”

Offensive line uncertainty

Left tackle Elijah Paige started this season as the young guy on USC’s offensive line. By the bowl game, he might be the Trojans’ most seasoned veteran up front.

That depends on looming decisions from center Jonah Monheim and left guard Emmanuel Pregnon. Both accepted invitations to all-star events and are planning to declare for the draft but have not confirmed whether they plan to opt out of the bowl game.

Read more: USC and Lincoln Riley salvage challenging signing day by landing Jahkeem Stewart

The expectation is they will. And if they do, Paige and guard Alani Noa will find themselves surrounded by several new faces, many of whom haven’t played much, if at all. Killian O’Connor, the likely fill-in at center, played just 33 snaps this season and 54 last season, while freshmen Tobias Raymond (84 snaps) and Justin Tauanuu (16) likely will compete for right tackle in place of Mason Murphy, who entered the portal.

Guard, meanwhile, is anyone’s guess. Of those remaining on the roster, only Kaylon Miller (six snaps) and walk-on Jack Susjnar (one) received any playing time this season.

“I have a ton of confidence in those guys,” Paige said.

Linebacker coaching search

Following the departure of linebackers coach Matt Entz, who accepted a head coaching job at Fresno State in early December, Riley said Thursday that USC “is moving along pretty heavily in the process” of finding his replacement.

“I would say we’re hustling it,” Riley said, “but we’re not in a hurry.”

Riley said he’s starting to have “more in-depth interviews and visits” with potential candidates. For bowl season, USC’s linebackers will be under the watch of defensive grad assistant Bryson Allen-Williams, who Riley said is “gonna be a star in this business.”

Czaplicki wins top honor

USC’s Eddie Czaplicki won the Ray Guy Award — presented to the nation’s top punter — Thursday night during the College Football Awards Show. He is the first USC player to win it. Czaplicki previously earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and was named the Big Ten Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year.

USC ranks first in the nation in net punting (45.54 yards). Czaplicki leads the nation in percentage of punts inside the 20 for punters with a minimum of 30 attempts. Twenty-four of his punts have been inside the 20, nine have been inside the 10 and four inside the five. He recorded just one touchback the entire season.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.