Tag: Luke Huard

USC QB coach Luke Huard visits notable recruit Friday night

If Julian Lewis bolts for Indiana or Colorado, getting Husan Longstreet to flip from Texas A&M could prove to be very crucial for USC.

On Friday evening, Jarrett Perez of 247Sports reported that USC football quarterbacks coach Luke Huard was in attendance at Corona Centennial High School, checking out five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet.

Per On3 Consensus’s rankings, Longstreet is the number 23 overall player in the Class of 2025. He is also the number four quarterback and the number two player in the state of California.

Longstreet is currently committed to Texas A&M. Over the past few weeks, however, rumors have begun to fly that he could potentially flip his commitment to USC.

The Trojans have had five-star 2025 quarterback Julian Lewis committed since last year. However, Lewis has taken numerous visits to other schools even after committing to USC, and the general vibe is that there is a good chance he winds up elsewhere.

USC’s quarterback situation for next year is still very much up in the air. The Trojans have just two quarterbacks on their 2024 roster who have thrown a pass at the FBS level: Miller Moss and Jayden Maiava. However, there is a good chance that at least one of the two will transfer this offseason, if not both.

While it will depend on how the last three games go with Maiava replacing Moss as the starter, it is likely that USC will be looking for at least one quarterback in the transfer portal this offseason. While the odds of a true freshman coming in and winning the starting job right away are slim, it is certainly not an impossible scenario given USC’s current status at the position.

College football’s early signing period for high school recruits begins on December 4, less than three weeks away.

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Will Lincoln Riley give up play calling responsibilities at USC?

Lincoln Riley was asked about giving up play-calling duties. He gave a very interesting answer.

During Big Ten media days on Wednesday, Lincoln Riley was asked if he had thought about giving up his play-calling duties to focus on the various responsibilities of a head coach at USC.

“I have, the last few years have made me think about it a little bit more than the first several. I have,” Riley admitted. “I don’t want to do anything other than what’s best for the program. Right, like that is the most important thing to me, like whatever I feel will most help us to win… that’s what I’m going to do. I’ve certainly made some adjustments the last few years to allow me to do the things I need to do.” 

In the offseason Riley explained that he had relinquished more responsibility with QBs, promoting Luke Huard to quarterbacks coach. In 2023 Riley brought in Kliff Kingsbury as his senior offensive analyst, who worked extensively with the quarterbacks.  Balancing time with his quarterbacks has freed him up to be more involved with recruiting, different aspects of the offense and defense, and the transactional side of coaching — the donors.

A huge part of the Sooner and Trojan success has hinged directly on the elite offensive game planning and play calling of Riley. His offenses have been the blueprint for three Heismans and College Football Playoff appearances over his first seven years as a head coach.

Riley shared a conversation with former Florida Gators national champion head coach Steve Spurrier after he took the job as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.  Riley said the “Head Ball Coach” told him, “Don’t ever give up calling plays.”

However, Riley was clear that he will always put the needs of the team first. “If I ever get to the point where I am not serving the program in the other areas I would give it up in a heartbeat. But if I do feel like I can do it, help our team win, and still be where I need to be on the other parts of the program that’s what I’m going to try to do.”

It doesn’t look like Riley is giving up calling plays anytime soon; it would not be in the best interest of the team. In arguably his worst year as a coach, the Trojans averaged 41.8 points per game.  That was good for third in the nation behind LSU and Oregon.  His talent for making quarterbacks shine and putting points on the board, facing some of the best defenses in the country when Big Ten play begins, will be needed more than ever.

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Luke Huard makes a name for himself with his special teams coaching at USC

Lincoln Riley doesn’t have a special teams coordinator, which means assistants all contribute. Luke Huard has helped in one very big way.

The photo of Luke Huard is from two decades ago, since our photo archives don’t have anything more recent. Huard isn’t a coordinator. He is the inside receiver coach for the Trojans. Yet, on a staff with no set-aside special teams coordinator, the various coaches all have opportunities to develop players as special teams performers.

Huard has helped Zachariah Branch in the art of punt returning, as Branch himself explained to 247Sports:

“I give all the credit to Coach (Luke) Huard,” Branch said. “He did a great job educating me on the facts about punt returns and kickoff returns. There’s way more aspects that you have to kind of look at than just looking at the ball in the air and just go run. So I’m initially looking at how the ball comes off the punter’s foot. I try to see it off his foot, see which way it’s angling so I can get a jump on the ball pretty fast.

“And then once I catch the ball, I kind of pause for a little second just to basically scan the field, see where my blockers are at, trying to see where the leverage of those blocks are at. And then, shoot, once you see that crease, you’ve gotta hit it, because that hole is going to close up fast. Definitely you’ve gotta see the leverage of the blocks and everything. The rest is just instinct.”

Huard has definitely cultivated and refined those instincts.

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USC’s Luke Huard is a candidate for offensive coordinator in the SEC

Also included in this story about a USC staffer is a note about Lincoln Riley’s younger brother, Garrett Riley.

The Texas A&M Aggies and coach Jimbo Fisher fired Darrell Dickey after five seasons this past offseason. They did so after having the worst offense in Fisher’s tenure. Dickey served as an analyst since Fisher has called plays for the offense since being hired at Florida State in 2010.

Texas A&M’s offense was horrid mainly due to injuries and incosistenent quarterback play. A&M ranked 82nd in passing offense (219.4 yards per game), 83rd in rushing offense (141.8 yards per game), 95th in total offense (361.2 yards per game), and 101st in scoring offense (22.6 points per game).

It was their fist season below .500 since 2008. Fisher and the Aggies will be on the hottest seat in the nation entering next season.

As they try to find their new way forward, they are looking for a new OC. Could Luke Huard of the USC Trojans be next in line?

Huard, 43, was an offensive analyst under Fisher at A&M from 2019-21 before joining USC. Prior to his three seasons in College Station, Huard was Sacramento State’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2017-2018.

He was also offensive coordinator at Georgia State and Illinois State. Huard is a former North Carolina quarterback and the younger brother of former University of Washington and NFL quarterbacks Damon Huard and Brock Huard.

TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, younger brother of USC coach Lincoln Riley, has already turned down Fisher’s offer of $6 million over three years to become the Aggies’ new offensive coordinator, according to Football Scoop.

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