USC Trojans Lincoln Riley in Favor of College Football Adopting Growing NFL Trend

Former USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams played the entire first half of the Chicago Bears preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs. This comes two weeks after Bears coach Ben Johnson chose not to play Williams in the preseason opener because of the reps he got during the week in joint practices. 

Adopting Joint Practices in College Football 

USC coach Lincoln Riley has been an advocate for the college game to adopt this new norm of NFL training camps. 

“I would be a big proponent of the joint practices. You can do it regionally,” Riley said. “It’ll be minimal travel. I’ve always thought it made too much sense. Each team ought to be able to do it one time. You get to compete against somebody else. Helps you evaluate your roster a little bit. 

“I understand not doing the preseason games and all that. We’re built a little bit different. The joint practices, that would be way too easy to do. It would be awesome just for your guys to get some experience because the first game counts, it’s real. You would love to be able to have a little bit of competition before that.”

While USC wouldn’t practice against crosstown rival UCLA, there are plenty of Power 4 schools on the West Coast that USC no longer plays because of conference realignment, most notably programs such as Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon State, Washington State and Utah. And then there's schools such as San Diego State, San Jose State, Fresno State and Boise State that are in close proximity.

College Football Week One

You never want to take any opponent lightly, but the Trojans will face Missouri State on Saturday, Aug. 30 at the Coliseum, certainly a step down from opening the season against LSU in Las Vegas, as they did a year ago. 

LSU will have another tough opener when they head to Clemson in a top-10 showdown. Those two teams will end the day, but the day will get started with Texas traveling to Columbus to face the Ohio State in a top-3 matchup. 

Programs will have typically have two scrimmages during fall camp, but the opportunity to face another school before squaring off against another college football playoff contender could have been very beneficial. 

Position Battles 

USC has several positions battles that Riley and his staff have been sorting out during camp, some more urgent than others. 

Offensive lineman DJ Wingfield was projected to start at guard after transferring from Purdue in the winter portal window, but his lawsuit against the NCAA failed and he was denied a fifth year of eligibility. 

Riley has expressed position flexibility with guys such as offensive tackles Tobias Raymond and Justin Tauanuu and center J’Onre Reed. Sophomore Micah Bañuelos will factor into the competition.