The USC Trojans successfully recruited Duce Robinson, the top-ranked tight end prospect in the country. Lincoln Riley probably has his best and most promising tight end as a college coach since Mark Andrews came through the Oklahoma program and helped Riley make the College Football Playoff with the Sooners in 2017.
We will see how Duce Robinson measures up against Mark Andrews. Another elite tight end with downfield pass-catching ability is worth mentioning here: Kyle Pitts of the Florida Gators in the 2020 college football season.
Kyle Pitts was the favorite target of quarterback Kyle Trask, but what really enabled Pitts to flourish is that he had an elite play-designer who put him in a position to succeed. That play-designer was head coach Dan Mullen, whose problem at Florida was not play-calling, but recruiting.
USC is not having many problems in recruiting, though it could use more defensive prospects. Lincoln Riley is doing well on that front, and he is every bit the play-designer Dan Mullen is if not more so.
Florida — with Pitts — scored 46 points against Nick Saban and Alabama in the 2020 SEC Championship Game. The Gators then lost to Riley and Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. Florida’s defense got shredded, but the Gator offense was superb. A great play-caller using an elite tight end was a central source of Florida’s success.
If Riley can use Duce Robinson as well as Dan Mullen used Kyle Pitts at Florida, USC’s offense — already loaded — will become even more explosive.
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