Lincoln Riley doesn’t seem overly annoyed about NIL’s effects on recruiting results

This does not mean Lincoln Riley likes the NIL landscape. It merely means he’s not overly bothered by USC’s position in the larger landscape (and he shouldn’t be).

Lincoln Riley was asked a very simple question on Wednesday at the start of the early signing period. USC didn’t score any late flips the way the Oregon Ducks did under Dan Lanning. The Trojans signed prospects who had been solidly committed to the program well in advance. There wasn’t a whole lot of drama for the Trojans, but losing Matayo Uiagalelei to Oregon was an undeniable disappointment.

So, Riley was asked, did USC lose any recruits because of NIL?

Riley’s answer was simple, but it also had two parts:

Part one: “Of course we did.”

Part two: Everyone did, though.

Part two is important, because without that second part, part one feels like a complaint. With part two included, it’s a simple acknowledgment that USC is no different from other programs. Riley isn’t singling out USC as a unique victim of this process.

Riley is no fan of NIL, but he’s not whining or crying about USC’s situation, as it should be. Anyone looking for controversy or trying to stir things up will be disappointed by Riley’s calm, measured response to the start of the early signing period.

That’s also a reminder: We still have several weeks to go until signing day in February. Let’s check back and see where we are then.

[mm-video type=video id=01gm9qwfp301nx1fxmsa playlist_id=none player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gm9qwfp301nx1fxmsa/01gm9qwfp301nx1fxmsa-5f1ce800029f353b16aab280fdc8f9aa.jpg]

[listicle id=54413]