Lincoln Riley could have sounded a note of caution. He could have chosen to manage and contain expectations instead of being bold and blunt. Yet, Riley didn’t go down the safe path. He talked a big game about the USC defense for this upcoming 2023 season, with spring ball just getting started.
Riley told Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times he expects “an extremely high-level defense” at USC, and he expects it “soon.”
USC fans certainly want that, but gosh, shouldn’t we wait to see real and substantial progress before the expectations get elevated like that?
USC plainly does not have a high-level defense right now. Moreover, the Trojans won’t know if they have a high-level defense until mid-October, when they visit Notre Dame and quarterback Sam Hartman. If they walk into South Bend and smother the Fighting Irish, we can talk. Until then, it’s all speculation. Given how bad the defense was in the last several weeks of the 2022 season, Riley’s insistence on stratospheric improvement — on having an excellent defense, not merely a moderately improved one — is surprising.
Let’s be clear: USC will have a very good season if the defense can merely be average or moderately above average. The defense seen in two games against Utah, the games against UCLA and Cal, and the Cotton Bowl versus Tulane was atrocious. An average defense — far less than great, but far better than awful — should be fine.
Riley could have insisted on excellence in a two- or three-year window. He didn’t. He said “soon.” That will create the expectation among fans that the defense needs to be outstanding this year, when it probably isn’t ready to reach that level.
USC returns Stanley Ta’ufo’ou and Tyrone Taleni, tied for second on the season with 7.5 tackles for a loss. Former No. 1 overall prospect Korey Foreman is also coming back on the defensive line, moving down from the rush end spot.
The Trojans will be a consensus preseason top-10 team going into next season and a favorite to return to the Pac-12 Championship Game with the return of Heisman winner Caleb Williams. The question for the Trojans will be on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch will return for another year, but this will be his last year at USC if the defense doesn’t improve.
In 2022, USC led the nation in turnover margin (1.57). Transfers Jack Sullivan, Mason Cobb and company will attempt to maintain that particular standard this upcoming season while improving the Trojans’ tackling, which was abysmal last year.
Defense will be at the forefront for USC this spring.
Lincoln Riley: “We expect to be an extremely high-level defense here at USC. No reason in the world why we can't and why we won't be. And we expect that that will happen and happen soon.”
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) March 7, 2023
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