USC Football Head Coach Lincoln Riley spoke to the media for over an hour during Big Ten Media Days. A number of topics were discussed including moving to the Big Ten, the schedule, playing in the cold, NIL, and plenty more.
Perhaps the thing that resonated the most, however, was Riley responding to where the USC Program currently sits, and where it is headed.
When asked if USC is behind or ahead of schedule of where he thinks it should be, he responded:
“Oh, it’s definitely not behind. I mean, they won four the year before, we won 19 the last two, so it’s not behind. I mean, it can never get here fast enough. Right. Especially in a blue blood. And that’s the difference, right? And you know, I’ve been lucky that the last, gosh, whatever it is, nine years or whatever it’s been, I’ve been in a Blue Blood program, so I’ve gotten a front-row seat to, you know, what life and needs is like, and so it can’t happen soon enough. And we fight and scratch and claw every single day to get it to where it’s gotta be.”
“There are some things that we were able to amend quickly and get pretty competitive pretty quickly. There’s also some things that take, time that no matter how hard you try and what you do, like there’s still, you know, you can’t revamp a roster and all the freshman classes, and, you know, stacking those classes, like you can’t do four years worth of work in one year. Like, it just can’t happen. You know? You can’t build a brand new facility in one year and get it all planned and designed and move heaven and earth like we did to get it done.”
“I mean this stuff takes time, man. And so now I think we’ve made progress in every way that you can possibly measure, especially, and I think people that were around the program before have a greater respect for that probably than the ones that just see USC out from a distance. But we’re coming, we’re coming quickly.”
Lincoln Riley Confident In USC Football’s Direction
This was actually the 2nd instance that Riley mentioned “We’re coming.” The first was in reference to whether USC has been playing catchup since he and his staff arrived.
He responded by saying that they have been playing catchup, but “When we catch up, and we will catch up, look out. And it’s coming.”
Whether or not it’s just media fodder or coaches speak at a media event, it has to get you somewhat excited knowing that the coach is happy with the progress made and feels confident that the program, not only can be but will be one of the premiere programs in the country.
Related: USC Trojans Surprisingly Low In New Big Ten Rankings
Many fans might remember that this was the quote famously used by Colorado football coach Deion Sanders, who said in just about every press conference, “We Comin.'”
Was Lincoln Riley paying homage to a former PAC12 foe, or does he realize that the giant that is USC Football is being slept on and they are just starting to see the gains of their potential?
In just over one month, we will certainly find out.
Head here for plenty more USC Trojans coverage from Big Ten Media Days.