How USC Trojans Tight End Room is Elevating Lincoln Riley’s Offense

Zach Hanson, the Trojans offensive line coach, previously served as the tight ends coach for three seasons. Hanson was a first team All-Big-12 selection on the offensive line at Kansas State.

A combination of both has paid dividends in the development of redshirt senior Lake McRee and sophomore Walker Lyons and given the USC offense an added element they haven't had in year's past.

New Offensive Philosophy 

USC has opened each of its first two games in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) and have operated more out of those formations than in previous seasons under Riley.  

In 2024, the Trojans tight ends had zero receiving touchdowns, but this year has been a different story. Through two games, three tight ends have caught a touchdown. 

McRee had a 64-yard catch-and-run for a score, the longest play of his career in week 1. Redshirt junior Carson Tabaracci caught his first career touchdown a week ago in his first game action since 2023. And then it was Lyons this past Saturday, who scored his first career collegiate touchdown.

“I think it's just testament to what we've been doing in practice, the off-season, weight room," Lyons said. "Last year, obviously, it wasn't an ideal, I guess production season for the for the tight end specifically. So I think we kind of took that in the off-season where we were kind of took a personal way."

“When teams come and play us, they have to be afraid that we have two tight ends, who are going to come down and block them and be physical in the run game, but then also catch the ball and be a threat after the catch in the passing game. And so it's been cool to see two games now we've had three different tight ends score and then also just had big yards after catch and stuff," Lyons continued.

The Trojans have been able to run the ball effectively by having its two tight ends in the game. Junior running back Waymond Jordan led the way in week 2 with a game-high 167 yards. In total, USC rushed for 309 yards against Georgia Southern.

“We're trying to take pride in a team that can be physical, especially in the big 10," Lyons said. "We're trying to establish that we can run football." 

The Trojans have two star wide receivers in juniors Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon. The two accounted for 249 receiving yards in Saturday’s win.

And having two reliable pass-catchers at the tight end position will continue to open up things for those two players, but also put more pressure on defenses. 

Walker Lyons Journey 

For Lyons it has been a long journey to get to this point. The Folsom (Calif.) product suffered a broken leg in the first quarter of the first game of his senior season that cost him the entire year. 

He immediately went on his year-long LDS mission after graduating high school. So, when Lyons arrived at USC in 2024, it had been almost two years since he appeared in a live game. 

Lyons was thrusted into a larger role in 2024 when McRee suffered an injury early in the season. He appeared in 11 games, including three starts, but only caught six passes.

The truth is, Lyons was probably not ready when he first assumed more responsibility in the offense. But, by the end of the year he was more comfortable in his environment and it was felt in the spring and fall camp. 

And it all came together when Lyons crossed the end zone for the first time in the cardinal and gold. 

“It was a crazy feeling, super surreal feeling, definitely feels good,” Lyons said. “Lots of hard work to fruition, but obviously there's so much, so much more to do and stuff.”

Impact in Recruiting 

Mater Dei (Calif.) five-star tight end and USC commit Mark Bowman has been an attendance for both games to kickoff the season. 

Riley preached to Bowman about the impact he could make during his recruitment, and the No. 1 ranked tight end in the country has been able to see it first-hand.