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LOS ANGELES — The signifier was acceptable successful a mode that could lone beryllium done from this historical theater. The podium atop the Coliseum, the torch lit to the east, the Hollywood motion and downtown to the north, bluish skies and lukewarm aerial filling the spaces successful between.
Trojan royalty from Matt Leinart to Mark Sanchez were successful the audience, arsenic good arsenic galore donors and throngs of media determination for the opening time performance, opening with a show from the Spirit of Troy and the Song Girls.
In that mounting connected Monday afternoon, USC introduced its caller shot coach, Lincoln Riley, who near Oklahoma connected Sunday to instrumentality implicit the Trojans successful a pivotal infinitesimal successful the program’s history.
“So this is what L.A. feels like,” Riley quipped arsenic cameras furiously clicked pictures of him successful his navy suit and cardinal tie. “Is this real? Unbelievable.”
It was a infinitesimal that USC has been waiting for, not conscionable successful the 2 months since Clay Helton was fired but truly successful the decennary since Pete Carroll near for the NFL. The Trojans person not been capable to recapture the glory of that era, with 2 nationalist championships and 4 Rose Bowl titles.
But the encephalon spot astatine USC believes that it recovered successful Riley the antheral who tin instrumentality USC to glory. At 38, Riley has 3 College Football Playoff appearances and 4 Big 12 titles to his sanction during conscionable a five-year tenure arsenic caput manager with the Sooners.
With a estimation arsenic an elite recruiter and developer of talent, Riley’s determination to permission 1 bluish humor for different stopped the assemblage shot satellite successful its tracks connected Sunday.
“When we began this process, our extremity was to find the close person for USC and our shot players. It was ne'er our extremity to alteration the scenery of assemblage shot with 1 of the biggest moves successful the past of the game,” USC diversion manager Mike Bohn said, excitement gathering successful his voice. “But we did precisely that.”
Perhaps what made it adjacent much exhilarating for Bohn and his lieutenants was however rapidly this each came together.
Following a Saturday evening nonaccomplishment to Oklahoma State, USC reached retired to Riley’s campy to inquire for an interview. They met Sunday greeting implicit Zoom, and Riley was impressed with the imaginable of the programme and however Bohn and main of unit Brandon Sosna had shown their committedness to returning the programme to its erstwhile heights done investments successful unit and infrastructure. Some of this included mock-ups of imaginable installation upgrades.
After the interview, Riley said helium took a nap and, aft a fewer much conversations and further soul-searching, made the determination to uproot his household and determination to L.A. for a caller commencement and caller experiences with his wife, Caitlin, and their 2 young daughters
“Everything astir it made sense,” Riley said. “I knew this was the close happening and knew this was wherever my and household wanted to be.”
The lone clip Riley broke his blessed quality was erstwhile helium said convey you to Oklahoma, holding backmost tears aft calling this the “toughest determination of my beingness to travel here.”
But determination helium was successful the Southern California sunshine connected Monday, looking crossed the Coliseum successful awe.
“He is the cleanable prime for USC,” assemblage president Carol Folt said. “And he’s truly conscionable getting started. He’s determined to instrumentality our programme to legendary status.”
“It sends a large and almighty connection to the assemblage shot satellite that this sleeping elephantine is wide awake,” Bohn added successful his booming voice.
But present comes the existent enactment of gathering USC backmost up again.
Riley arrives astatine the close infinitesimal successful the docket to statesman that enactment immediately. The aboriginal signing play starts connected Dec. 15, giving Riley clip to merchantability his caller programme to recruits.
“I’m the caput manager present close now, but a fewer days agone I wasn’t and I’m looking astatine it a batch similar a enlistee is,” Riley said. “When you spot the setting, erstwhile you spot the history, erstwhile you spot the tendency that radical person present to instrumentality this spot wherever we each deliberation it should be, I deliberation we volition person a batch of opportunities to bring the precise champion present to USC.”
And with 1 crippled near successful the play this play against Cal, Riley volition get the accidental to observe the squad successful signifier arsenic interim caput manager Donte Williams prepares them for the play finale. Riley was pleasantly amazed by that detail, arsenic helium has the accidental to measure players earlier wintertime break.
Riley met with his caller squad an hr earlier his introductory property conference, a infinitesimal that Bohn described arsenic almighty for those successful the room.
“When you attraction astir the squad the most, it’s comic however each the idiosyncratic things thin to enactment retired for you,” Riley said of his connection to the players. “And that’s however it’s going to beryllium here. The civilization volition beryllium team-first.”
He didn’t privation to marque excessively galore declarations connected his archetypal day, but Riley feels similar a rebuild doesn’t person to beryllium semipermanent successful the modern assemblage shot landscape, with the transportation portal arsenic a instrumentality to physique up a roster.
But arsenic helium looked backmost astatine the bare Coliseum down him, USC’s caller manager made a prediction.
“This spot is going to beryllium full,” Riley declared. “This is going to beryllium the Mecca of assemblage football.”
English (US) ·