Lincoln Riley reveals how culture-building takes place inside a college football program
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
On a broad and very general level, one can see that Lincoln Riley is earning high marks as USC head coach. Crucially, he isn’t always hitting the target as a play-caller, as shown against Oregon State. Yet, the Trojans still won that game. Riley the play-caller has been good this year. Riley the leader has been great, getting all these transfers and new faces to play well as a group. Riley’s assistant coaches, most notably defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, have done well in bringing players along and creation cohesion on the roster.
We can all see this is what a winning culture looks like, the kind of culture many skeptics felt USC wouldn’t be able to develop in Year 1 of Riley’s tenure. How has this all come together so quickly?
Riley offered some insights when answering questions from assembled media earlier this week. He discussed his approach to playing receivers and non-QB skill position players:
#USC HC Lincoln Riley credited Mario Williams and Tahj Washington for what they've done even when the ball isn't in their hands.
Riley said the more valuable you make yourself, the more opportunities you're going to get. https://t.co/LKHiGwOP6S
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 6, 2022
Riley noted how Travis Dye has been a central helper of the coaching staff in building culture and setting an example for teammates in the locker room and on the field:
#USC HC Lincoln Riley said Travis Dye is making an impact on and off the field.
"He's one of the key pieces when you look back on it." Riley said you have to bring in good players but also guys that want to lead the program in the right direction.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 6, 2022
Riley then emphasized the importance of his role — not in micro-managing players himself, but in making sure his coaches are coaching their position groups the right way, so that the caliber of instruction in all phases of play is up to standard:
#USC HC Lincoln Riley said one of his most important jobs is coaching the coaches and coaching the leaders.
"Head coach can't do it all by himself. There's got to be other people doing it." But said you have to have consistency of the message. It's up to HC to set the direction.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 6, 2022
This is how culture is built. So far, it’s a winning formula for Lincoln Riley at USC.
List
With Dodgers having the weekend off, college football takes center stage in Los Angeles
