Team-building takes precedence as USC opens spring football

As he stood along one side of Howard Jones Field, his team’s first spring practice complete, USC coach Lincoln Riley echoed the mantra of another top sports franchise.

“We’ve got talent,” Riley said Tuesday. “Now we’ve got to build a team.”

If all goes as planned, the phrase that carried the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl championships will help Riley’s team finally reach the College Football Playoff after four seasons that ended in frustration.

The Trojans’ team-building started long before this new collection of players converged for practice on a cool, sunny morning. Among other getting-to-know-you endeavors, there were barbecues and player-run practices. Each was designed to help a highly decorated freshman class and nine transfers unite with the returners who form the core of the team.

What the Trojans saw in their opening practice left them heartened.

“I’m not even going to lie,” redshirt senior quarterback Jayden Maiava said, “this being our first day, you couldn’t even tell that it was those young guys’ first day.”

Thirty-two of the 35 freshmen have enrolled, giving Riley an early look at what he has to work with from the nation’s top-ranked high school recruiting class. Having such a high percentage of the roster on campus allowed the team to start spring practices earlier than normal.

The Trojans will hold 15 practices, including seven back-to-back sessions, with the final practice scheduled for April 4. As usual, there will not be a formal spring game.

At the opening practice, there were the usual rhythms of spring football. Whistles blew, bass blared from loudspeakers, pads thudded, players shuffled from one drill to another.

As soon as a massive team huddle broke after the stretching period, Maiava sprinted toward the adjacent field. Clapping his hands, he took a snap and threw a short pass before eventually testing his arm with longer throws.

As wide receivers ran routes without being defended, there was instant feedback.

“The same mistake as yesterday!” one coach yelled after a dropped pass. “Come on!”

Riley said his biggest goals of the spring were adjusting to all of the changes on defense and special teams, not to mention having so many newcomers. The team has a new defensive coordinator in Gary Patterson and a new special teams coordinator in Mike Ekeler.

Patterson’s defense has already made an early impression, albeit somewhat annoyingly so.

“The one thing that I’ve noticed a lot is there’s an insane amount of communication,” said offensive lineman Tobias Raymond, a candidate to become the team’s starting center. “Like, I’m trying to get my call to the right guard, but the defense is so loud that I’m screaming at the top of my lungs to get it across.”

Riley said wide receiver Tanook Hines, center Kilian O’Connor, safety Christian Pierce, tackle Justin Tauanuu, and cornerbacks Chasen Johnson and Jontez Williams would either not participate in spring practice or be limited after recovering from off-season medical procedures.

The absence of Hines, a leading candidate to take over as the featured receiver, could help a slew of others contend for that role. Riley mentioned Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Tron Baker, Luke Weaver, Terrell Anderson, Corey Simms, Trent Mosley, Zach Williams and Romero Ison as players who could benefit.

“All these guys,” Riley said, “they’re going to get a ton of reps and they all need them.”

Raymond, who is part of an offensive line that returns every starter, credited Maiava with being more vocal, a development he attributed to his own growth heading into his final college season.

“One thing he’s been getting better at exponentially is communicating as well,” Raymond said, “like seeing when someone’s down or seeing when someone has a good play and picking them up or congratulating them but also getting on people when they’re doing something wrong.”

Riley said having such a long runway to see what his freshmen can do could help determine how many of them might make an impact during the season.

“Getting a look at these people, seeing where they’re at in terms of their development and where they’ve gotta go,” Riley said, “I think the evaluation process is going to be really important.”

It might even allow Riley to move the final pieces into place on what could become his best USC team.

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