Luca Evans (OC Register) —  LOS ANGELES — For four years, his 20-somethings spent working his way up via coffee runs and one-on-one film sessions with the late Mike Leach, Lincoln Riley’s football mind grew up within an Air Raid that seldom used the tight end.

The position became a complete afterthought in Riley’s last few years as a receivers coach at Texas Tech under Leach. And such it went, in his first year as an offensive coordinator at East Carolina in 2010, that no tight end on the roster as much as caught a pass. Heck, no player on the roster was even listed as a tight end.

“He got there, and he was like, ‘Well, I don’t know what I’m gonna do with all these tight ends – we don’t really play with a tight end,’” then-receivers coach Donnie Kirkpatrick remembered.

His offense evolved at Oklahoma, for a couple of years, with future Pro Bowler Mark Andrews in tow. But for two years at USC, other than flashes from Clay Helton-era holdover Lake McRee, Riley’s offense hadn’t much utilized the tight end as part of a pace-and-space offense predicated on playmaking from Caleb Williams.

So it’s a clearly notable shift in philosophy and system, then, that tight end McRee has been far and away USC’s leading receiver (137 yards) through two games in 2024.

“I think he’s been doing a heck of a job, and shoot – you play really well, you continue to get the ball, and that’s what he’s done,” quarterback Miller Moss said of McRee after USC’s victory over Utah State on Sept. 7.

The Texas native has long earned Moss’ trust as a pass-catcher, now in their fourth year together at USC. And both McRee and Moss made clear that increased targets were coming, in part, due to Moss’ fondness for running tight end sets in an offense. But the shift extends beyond McRee, too. Redshirt freshman Kade Eldridge has seen consistent snaps alongside McRee in two-tight end sets, particularly in run-blocking situations.

As Moss frequently looks to McRee over the middle – 14 of Moss’ 21 attempts of more than 10 yards this year have come between the numbers – and Riley continues to assert USC’s running game, it’s a trend that will likely stick entering the Big Ten.

With 11th-ranked USC (2-0) plunging headfirst into a new rough-and-tumble conference, flying to No. 18 Michigan (2-1) for a trip to the Big House, here are a few more points to keep an eye on as the Trojans emerge from a bye week.

Anthony Lucas emerging in pass rush

Toeing the line of scrimmage against LSU in Week 1, lining up opposite All-SEC Tigers tackle Will Campbell, USC defensive end Anthony Lucas burst off the snap and attacked the lineman so emphatically in pursuit of a run that – with solely his right arm – he pushed Campbell’s head back and to the sky.

The man wanted a fistfight, after all. He got one. A couple of days later, fellow defensive end Jamil Muhammad pointed to the clip of the play, captured by CBS Sports draft analyst Mike Renner, and referred to it as decapitating the lineman.

“I mean, it’s nothing against that guy,” Muhammad said. “Ant’s just been preparing.”

Hailed as a physical standout and a potential difference-maker for USC’s defensive line after a 2023 transfer, the 6-foot-6 Lucas went quiet in a lackluster sophomore campaign. But after adding 10 pounds in the offseason bringing him up to 275, and another round of glowing fall camp reviews, Lucas has looked like a completely different force through two games in 2024.

Capable of affecting the pocket and bursting through linemen from either the interior or the edge on a versatile defensive line, junior Lucas has led USC in both quarterback pressures (six) and hurries (four) through two games, becoming the Trojans’ most-important piece of a beefed-up front.

Other programs are noticing, too. Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore pointed to Lucas when asked about USC players that had caught his eye in a Monday press conference.

“He’s a game-wrecker,” Moore said.

Stopping the drops

The only two blemishes on USC’s 48-0 victory over Utah State in Week 2 became buried beneath the all-around avalanche brought forth on the Aggies. But the Trojans’ red zone offense sputtered ever so slightly in the first half, thanks namely to a pair of drops from USC’s two most prominent sophomore receivers.

On USC’s first drive, a ball from Moss whiffed straight through Ja’Kobi Lane’s hands at the goal line, the 6-foot-4 marvel drooping his head in dismay. A couple of drives later, before an eventual touchdown run from Woody Marks, Zachariah Branch dropped a pass in the flat from the 2-yard line that would have marked his first score of the year.

Incredibly inconsequential, ultimately. But Riley was adamant in the fall that his program couldn’t take the consistency of now-graduated veteran receivers – namely Tahj Washington – for granted, in a young room built on a quadrant of sophomores. And as pressure mounts entering the Big Ten, USC’s offense can little afford the mistakes it left on the board against the Aggies.

“This group that we have is capable of a lot,” Riley said in mid-August, “but you’ve got to go do it.”

Linebacker health

Similar to Lucas, returning linebacker Eric Gentry has established himself through two games as an irreplaceable playmaker in new coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s scheme, flying against the run and recording seven tackles and a sack against Utah State.

Gentry, though, wasn’t seen at practice both Tuesday and Wednesday during the viewing period open to the media. Fellow linebacker Mason Cobb, who Gentry started in place of against Utah State, was back in pads but doing some sideline injury rehab.

Riley has said both will be available against Michigan come Saturday. If either or both are limited, though, it will mean more snaps for freshman Desman Stephens II next to stalwart Easton Mascarenas-Arnold. Returning safety Anthony Beavers Jr., too, has begun working with the linebackers during individual drills, a sign the program is trying to bolster depth there.