With several first-year adjustments out of the way, Riley anticipates progress – much like he saw at Oklahoma – for the Trojans in Year 2
Asked Tuesday if any deficiency at USC surprised him last year after taking the job, Riley took a long moment to think through all the different potential answers. The roster was in worse shape than he expected. The strength and nutrition programs were behind the times.
But USC exceeded that with its first 11-win season since 2017. And as the Trojans surpassed the original expectations for a first-year coach, new expectations emerged. And when those weren’t met due toMuch of the ire turned to Grinch, the leader of the defense. And Riley did not quell those questions whenOn Tuesday, Riley said his belief in Grinch never waivered. But he wanted to examine the film of the season and make sure that belief was well-placed before making any decision.
The Sooner defense that Grinch inherited gave up 453.8 yards and 33.3 points per game. Improvements his first season in Norman were marginal, but in Year 2 the Sooners had tightened up to 350.6 yards and 21.7 points, both top-30 marks nationally. “I know what he’s made of. I just do. And I know what he’s getting ready to do defensively. So I just have a confidence and a belief there,” Riley said. “The reality is for us to make the jump defensively we’ve got to make, the roster’s gotta get better, the development’s gotta get better. I have to be better at my role for it.”
“There’s just so much more time and so much more opportunity to, as an overseer of all that, to have more of a presence there,” Riley said. “And I need to do that. I need to be better in it, no doubt about it. … My role with the defense has to be better. Some of it will be better because it’s Year 2. But also some of it needs to be better just because I need to get better.”
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