Throughout three seasons spent because the architect of USC’s offense, Graham Harrell went to nice lengths to reassure followers his Air Raid may generate a succesful run recreation. Regardless of that insistence, USC by no means received it occurring the bottom with Harrell on the helm. His tenure as offensive coordinator noticed the Trojans collectively common fewer than 4 yards per carry, good for one of many worst speeding stretches in class historical past.
Lincoln Riley rose up by way of the identical system, with deep roots in the identical teaching tree. Like Harrell, who’s now at West Virginia, Riley discovered beneath Mike Leach, one of many Air Raid’s earliest adopters, at Texas Tech.
However when the brand new USC coach was requested to clarify his system earlier this spring, he puzzled aloud if the label usually ascribed to his offense even match in any respect.
“The Air Raid stuff got here from all of our background at Texas Tech,” Riley mentioned. “During the last seven years, we’ve had the very best yards per carry of any faculty soccer group within the nation. We’ve [run] the ball at a excessive degree for a very long time, so I don’t know that Air Raid actually suits anymore to be trustworthy.”
If USC can efficiently reinvigorate its speeding assault, it gained’t matter what Riley calls his system. Over the past 4 seasons, USC has ranked 82nd, one hundred and twentieth, 119th and 107th in speeding nationally. The Trojans have averaged 200 yards speeding or extra per recreation simply as soon as (2016) because the heyday of Reggie Bush and LenDale White.
Riley, by comparability, hit that benchmark in every of his first three seasons as Oklahoma’s head coach and each seasons he spent because the Sooners offensive coordinator earlier than that. Final season, solely six groups averaged extra yards per speeding try than Oklahoma.
All indicators level to extra of the identical at USC, the place Riley has already rebuilt the working again room, including skilled transfers in Travis Dye and Austin Jones, each of whom have impressed by way of spring camp. Dye led the Pac-12 in all-purpose yards a yr in the past.
“I imagine you must run the soccer to win championships, to be a championship soccer group,” Riley mentioned. “It’s one thing we’ve been fairly respectable at in our previous. I feel it’s one thing this faculty, once you look again at its championship seasons, a powerful working recreation has been part of that.”
So what has made Riley’s run recreation so sturdy? USC working backs coach Kiel McDonald, who’s new to Riley’s offense, says it’s his skill to adapt in a rush.
“There’s so many solutions, and people solutions come on the fly,” McDonald mentioned Tuesday. “They arrive very, in a short time. The run recreation, it’s not only a zone that goes with an Air Raid offense, there’s much more shifting components than that. I see why they’ve been so profitable at Oklahoma.”
The Sooners didn’t have one single system for achievement on the bottom throughout Riley’s tenure. Some seasons, he clung to a committee method. Others, he relied on a workhorse. Oftentimes, a twin risk quarterback would add a wrinkle to the run recreation, releasing up room for different backs.
That needs to be the case once more this season with Caleb Williams at quarterback. However how the remainder of USC’s rotation may shake out stays a thriller. Dye and Jones have break up carries this spring with Darwin Barlow, the only returning again from final yr’s rotation. That trio shall be joined this summer time by prime recruit Raleek Brown, who’s anticipated to step into an all-purpose position as a freshman.
A committee method may be within the playing cards to begin the season. However at Utah, the place he labored as working backs coach since 2017, McDonald has at all times relied on one again an increasing number of because the season went alongside.
He’s alluded to related plans this spring for USC.
“Zack [Moss] was a 20-carry man. Ty [Jordan] was a 20-carry man. Tavion [Thomas] became a 20-carry man in the direction of the tip of the yr,” McDonald mentioned. “Should you earn it, and also you’re the man, then you definitely’re the man. That’s for positive. I imagine in some unspecified time in the future somebody goes to step up. However we’re lucky sufficient to have three actually good gamers. I feel we could possibly be in a scenario like that.
“However anyone at all times will get to the highest.”
Max weight
By the tip of his freshman season, Max Gibbs tipped the scales at 410 kilos.
Gibbs continues to be the largest participant on USC’s roster, however a lot has modified for the sophomore. USC’s new employees put him on a brand new coaching routine, with a brand new eating regimen and a brand new exercise routine. Halfway by way of spring, Gibbs is feeling reenergized, down 40 kilos to a way more manageable 370.
A smiling Gibbs mentioned Tuesday that his weight reduction has helped him belief USC’s new employees — and simply to really feel higher, typically.
“Man, I really feel method lighter,” Gibbs mentioned. “It makes me actually blissful. It makes me need to hold going.”
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