Lincoln Riley thinks he has better linebackers at USC in 2023 than he did in 2022. He also thinks he has a better pass rush this season than he did last season. He said these things at a media availability after practice on Tuesday. He did not back away from the belief that USC’s defense has better players than it did one year ago.
All of what Riley said on Tuesday — and much of what he has said on previous occasions this year — invites one obvious question: If the personnel is supposedly better, why aren’t the results on defense better? When will this coaching staff get through to the players and enable them to play complete games with no 20-minute collapses, such as what we saw in the final 20 against Colorado this past Saturday?
USC’s quest to establish accountability and a genuinely improved culture on defense continues with an upcoming Week 6 game against Arizona.
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