Haley Sawyer (OC Register)  —  USC receiver Ja’Kobi Lane is fully healthy again after suffering a broken foot, head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters on a Zoom call on Thursday morning.

“He’s been full go here for about the last week,” Riley said. “And so it’s getting back in shape and getting him back in the fold after missing some of that time. But you can see some of the rust starting to get knocked off now.”

Lane broke his foot in May, Riley said, and has been progressing ahead of schedule. The junior receiver has been seen stretching with the team and participating in individual drills to varying degrees during recent media viewing periods of fall training camp.

He scored a team-leading 12 touchdowns last season for USC and had 43 receptions for 525 yards. He also brings a lot of energy and is often seen dancing on the field or providing constructive criticism for his teammates in between drills.

“He is definitely a spark plug for this team and, really, for this program,” Riley said on the first day of fall camp. “He’s just one of those unique guys where that energy, you feel it across the practice field. And those guys are invaluable.”

Expert weighs in on Wingfield vs. NCAA

USC offensive lineman DJ Wingfield, along with UCLA receiver Kaedin Robinson, lost lawsuits against the NCAA on Monday, meaning that the left guard will not be eligible to play for the Trojans this season.

On Wednesday, four West Virginia football players were granted eligibility after similar litigation.

“They’re looking at the same material and the judges in those cases are deciding either that it is commercial or it isn’t commercial,” UC Berkeley’s Derek Van Rheenen told SCNG. “So the question becomes, simply, are we talking about college football being education or are we talking about it being a business?”

Van Rheenen, a Berkeley School of Education professor and Cultural Studies of Sport in Education faculty director, thinks that moving toward a professional model, classifying student-athletes as employees and allowing them to collectively bargain could be a solution.

But becoming a business shouldn’t sacrifice the transformative and developmental aspects of college sports, he adds.

“One of the risks of becoming such big business is that people become commodities,” Van Rheenan said. “Savvy coaches and athletic directors and chancellors and presidents can actually build (a place) where people want to stay.”

“If you have a culture where it’s healthy, it’s successful, but it’s also effective in terms of feeling like you’re valued beyond the first-string defensive lineman, I think people will stay at that school. And I think that’s what schools and programs should really be trying to create to differentiate themselves from the others.”

Wingfield could appeal Monday’s decision, but it’s unlikely the process would be completed in enough time for him to play this season.

Captains to be decided weekly

USC will again determine captains for each game on a weekly basis, similar to the system that was used last season.

“It’s going to be on a what-have-you-done-for-the-team-lately kind of manner,” Riley told reporters on Zoom. “If you’re a great leader, then that leadership ought to get better and improve, and that ought to be consistent. Those guys ought to be held accountable, just like any other position battle on the team.”

Quarterback Jayden Maiava is a likely captain for the season opener against Missouri State on Aug. 30 after receiving praise from his coaches and teammates throughout the fall.

Maiava started the final four games last season and played in seven games total. He threw for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns with six interceptions while rushing for another 45 yards and four touchdowns.

“The team and the offense, and just everybody is feeling his personality more,” Riley said. “It’s a very different scenario right now. We challenged him in a lot of ways to come out of his shell and really take ownership of this group, and he’s done that.”

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