Lincoln Riley confident USC offensive line can be ‘damn good’ despite Michigan loss

The left tackle was cramping. The right guard was benched. The new right tackle was playing his first meaningful snaps, while the new right guard had played only a handful. All the while, 110,000 hostile fans roared with every missed block or botched assignment against the nation’s most fearsome defensive front featuring two top-15 NFL draft prospects on the interior.

“That’s as tough as it gets,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday.

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Sept. 12, 2024

It was truly a nightmare scenario for USC’s offensive line, which came completely unraveled during a 27-24 loss to Michigan, raising serious questions about the depth and development of a group Riley and his staff assured would be fine without offseason additions from the transfer portal.

That confidence certainly looked misplaced Saturday, as Michigan’s pass rush steamrolled through the Trojan front with ease, pressuring quarterback Miller Moss 22 times. Still, Riley didn’t seem concerned on Tuesday about the line’s long-term trajectory, instead once again reiterating his belief that USC’s offensive line can be “really damn good” this season.

Some of that responsibility in getting there, Riley did acknowledge, does fall on him and his staff. The coach admitted he could have done a better job preparing the offense for Michigan’s defensive front.

“We all gotta take steps — the coaching, the players around them — to get it going, to play at the level we want to,” Riley said. “And frankly, within the first couple of games this year, there’s been a ton of positive signs. We’ve got to get back on track that way, and I’m confident we will.”

Michigan’s Josaiah Stewart knocks down USC quarterback Miller Moss during the Trojans’ loss at Michigan Stadium Saturday.

(Ric Tapia/Getty Images)

The more pressing concern is whether the confidence of the linemen remains intact after such a demoralizing performance.

That’s an especially pertinent question for left tackle Elijah Paige, who looked totally overwhelmed over one half of football last Saturday. Riley said that cramps made Paige unavailable for the second half, though Paige appeared twice on special teams plays after getting replaced on the line by right tackle Mason Murphy.

Last season, coaches sent Paige down to the scout team after his progress stagnated and it sparked improvement. But with little depth behind him at left tackle, it’s unclear where USC would turn if Paige was pulled from the lineup.

“It’s tough to be a young offensive lineman in that situation,” said center Jonah Monheim, the only offensive lineman USC made available for media interviews this week. “You know you have something that doesn’t go your way against a good group of players, it’s a tough thing. But it’s something you have to learn from. It’s something you have to go through, and you come out the other side as a better player and person because of it.”

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Reserve tackle Tobias Raymond, who played 45 snaps in the second half, joined the offensive line when Paige was sidelined against Michigan. And while Raymond struggled, he earned respect from teammates for taking over Murphy’s spot when Murphy moved to left tackle in place of Paige.

“That’s a hell of a position to be thrown into,” Moss said. “I texted him the night after the game that I was proud of him and the way he stepped up for the team. I think it was really selfless.”

Riley didn’t say whether he intended to trot out the same starting five against Wisconsin on Saturday, while The Times’ request to speak with USC offensive line coach Josh Henson was denied.

Many questions remain about where the Trojans will turn next on the offensive line. While Paige is likely to stay at left tackle, the right guard spot could be up for grabs after Alani Noa was replaced in the second quarter by fellow redshirt freshman Amos Talalele.

“A lot of it is just kind of mental,” Monheim said. “‘What story are you telling yourself? How are you handling things, how you practice, how you lift, how prepared are you, how confident are you in yourself?’ All things like that. Not necessarily being defined by, ‘Oh, I’m rotating,’ or ‘Oh, I’m this or I’m that.’ [Noa has] got so much talent, and it’s our job to just get that out of him in every way that we can.”

Riley is sure that’s possible. But confidence isn’t going to return overnight, Monheim said.

“Confidence really comes from habits, built over and over and over,” Monheim said. “It’s hard to get yourself out of a rut with just one play. It really usually doesn’t work like that.”

USC tight end Lake McRee may return to the Trojans’ lineup this season despite suffering an injury against Michigan.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

When Lake McRee was leveled at the knees by a Michigan defender just two months after he’d returned from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, it appeared he suffered another serious injury. The image of him in tears on the sideline didn’t help ease that dread, either.

But while Riley didn’t share the nature of McRee’s injury on Tuesday, he did say that the tight end “got good news” and would be back at some point this season.

Considering the hit, Riley admitted, “he’s incredibly lucky.” Though, Riley did concede that the hit was “legal right now.”

“I don’t fault the kid from Michigan,” Riley said, “but a hit like that does not need to be legal. You think about all the things in college football, football in general that we’ve cleaned up. It is very simple to clean up a defenseless player that can’t see you going low on him.”

Receiver Makai Lemon is “doing very well” after his helmet hit the ground hard against Michigan. Lemon was taken to the hospital for observation, but he was able to fly back to L.A. with the team.

“He’s rebounded back well,” Riley said on the Trojans Live radio show, “as good as you could possibly hope for with that scary of a situation.”

Safety Akili Arnold was also not available at practice after suffering an injury in the second half against Michigan. Riley said Arnold is “improving quickly” and the coach is “hopeful” that Arnold could play Saturday.