When Lincoln Riley talks, who listens?
Do his players? USC has players leaving for the transfer portal and defensive end DJ Peevy was the latest Tuesday.
Players leave for different reasons: Playing time, NIL, a featured role, etc.
But would USC have so many defections if players believed in their coach?
Whatever else is going on, it’s hard to believe the players have faith in Riley or his direction with the listless program.
Duce Robinson should be a great candidate to stay at USC. A uniquely athletic wide receiver, someone who also requires baseball (USC has an up-and-coming program) and is perfectly suited for playing in a marquee market like Los Angeles. And his father was a star prep player in nearby Diamond Bar.
The reasons to be at USC are compelling except for the fact he has been buried in an at-times mundane offense. He’s a five-star wide receiver who caught 23 passes this season. That ain’t great.
Would anyone be surprised if Zacariah Branch and/or Ja’Kobi Lane left? Look at where they were projected heading into Game 1 vs. their actual development this season. They have to be asking some serious questions and it starts with Riley.
You can pay all these guys more NIL money but if nothing is happening to make them better NFL prospects, they won’t want to stick around.
- Imagine how rough this is on the fanboy media. They latch on to a player and endlessly hype them up, only for the player to transfer after 1-2 years. All that bum-kissing down the drain!
InsideUSC with Scott Wolf 
Next year’s starting running back and wideout are transferring out of SC. Could it be because they’re being displayed on an average team with little national exposure- these kids are all about business. Most of them won’t make the NFL, so now is the time to strike a better NIL deal
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Huh?
Little national exposure?
I went to a lot 1230pm games this year while you were in mom’s basement messaging on an out of touch blog. The games were on national TV.
One of your worst takes ever.
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Maybe. But who was watching or cared outside SC loyalists
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Actually he was playing lawyer while his supposed wife was playing psychologist
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Who cared about the USC-Michigan or USC-Notre Dame game? Are you serious?
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-But paying players to play football never hurt the NFL. And apparently it isn’t hurting the college game based on tv ratings
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Some would say that turning college football into the NFL’s professional minor league is destroying it. Compare the band at a Raiders game to the USC Trojans Marching Band.
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Some elite college footballers are 18 and 19 years-old teenagers making big-time financial decisions. So we are getting what you get with teenagers
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How are their decisions any less valid than Juan Soto making big time financial decisions?
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In the ‘old’ days footballers would stick to their college for 3-years and in the really old days it was 4-years, so we got to know and embrace our favorite players. Now with the ‘One-and-Dones’ we’re not so attached
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The NFL has more stability now. Why get excited about LOI Day when most of those recruits may not be at SC in 3 years?
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Wiley is still learning the ropes of being a complete football coach, he’s young
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Sir Lincoln of Riley is like a rock star who did most of his best work before he signed the big contract. How many great songs did Springsteen write once he moved from his beloved gritty New Joisey to his Malibu beach house?
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Maybe Trojans root for SC because games still stir memories of long ago in college
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Maybe you still think you’re a lawyer ?
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For Branch it all started at the beginning of the season when he seemingly refused to take kicks back
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Was he following orders?
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The receivers were not as good as hoped, including the opt-out guy
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The OL was not as good as hoped, resulting in Moss running for his life, being battered like a pinata and making hurried throws.
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I’m sure Wiley commands the attention of all of his players, he speaks well and most importantly he is The coach. If mutiny includes laying down in games, SC gave their all all season. They simply had too many 50-50-type games in the 4th quarter and usually came up short
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Sir Lincoln of Riley is On The Spectrum. He is no warm and fuzzy John Robinson or Pete Carroll and doesn’t command the respect of John McKay. He is more of a Homer Smith or Naamie Chow, a Nutty Professor genius at offense. Riley inherited a great program Bob Stoops created at Oklahoma so his deficiencies as a head coach were hidden. He needs to go to the NFL like Kliff Kingsbury and be a QB Guru.
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The “fanboy media” would say that this is happening everywhere, and they would be right.
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USC has 12 players in the portal.
Oregon has 2, according to the Oregonian newspaper.
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All indications are that Belichick is heading to college. With that stigma lifted, I guarantee schools have reached out to Pete Carroll to do the same. Only question is which ones?
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