Lincoln Riley Says USC Was the Right Challenge At the Right Time

Lincoln Riley on Colin Cowherd— “Certainly getting the right staff in here is a key priority. There’s gonna be certain steps that we’re gonna have to take that are gonna take time. It’s not gonna happen overnight, but at the same time, there are opportunities to rebuild and change rosters. There’s more opportunities to build rosters than ever before, There are so many different ways that you can go about it.

“I think a big part is having a staff that can be creative and adapts. Once the future USC players out there see what we have seen about the commitment and what this place is getting ready to do in terms of going completely all-in on this football program, that’s what sold us. We were kind of like recruits ourselves.

“I honestly didn’t think that I would do it, that I would come to USC. I really didn’t. But my wife and I just sat there and we broke it down. We were very entrenched in Oklahoma. Knowing what we were leaving was very tough and emotional. But we both believed at the end of the day that this was right. It was right for our family, and the confidence we had in this place outweighed being nervous about having to leave OU. It was bittersweet.

“There’s gonna be a lot of things that we will bring here. But this isn’t Oklahoma either. We have to be flexible and find out for us what works out here, what works for our players and our staff. Being flexible is very important. The first thing that comes to mind for me is the culture and accountability within the program. It’s about these days going forward.

“I know enough that if you want to truly compete and be at the top, you better have a locker room that is about that. You better have guys that are about each other and guys that put that in front of their personal accolades. When you care about the team, the individual things come. The majority of the great players in any sport are great team guys. We’ll do everything possible to make sure when somebody walks into our program, they feel that when they are around us.

“It still comes down to physicality and being dominant at the line of scrimmage. That’s what we have to build here. It starts with the big guys. It starts with being dominant on the fronts. We believe in building it from the front back on both sides of the ball. That’ll be the approach. I want people to see us play with an edge. I want people to see a smart football team that plays for each other. To be great, to be a championship team, you can’t have holes. You can’t have weaknesses. You’ve gotta be really strong on all sides this day and age.

“The talent in California is tremendous. I love recruiting out here. I always have. There’s a lot of great relationships we have already. We have to build and put something in front of these players that says there’s no reason to go anywhere else. I can get the very best right here in L.A. I’ll reach out to Pete (who called USC to say he was so overjoyed that Lincoln was hired) 100%. We got to know each other a few years ago. He’s phenomenal. He knows this place as well as anybody. I’ve got a long list of people I’ve got to talk to, and he’s certainly at the top.”

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