Lincoln Riley Explains Trent Mosley's Status on Official Injury Report

The No. 12 USC Trojans are leaving on Thursday for the lengthy trip out to Rutgers ahead of week 3, but the team revealed that star freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley is designated as "Out" on the team's first official injury report before facing the Scarlet Knights.

USC coach Lincoln Riley spoke to the media on Wednesday before the team makes the trip to the East Coast, and he addresed the current injury situation surrounding Mosley, giving Trojans fans a potential sigh of relief.

lincoln riley injury update trent mosley freshman big ten official report rutgers scarlet knights jahkeem stewart road game — Sep 12, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Trent Mosley (4) carries the ball against Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns cornerback Brent Gordon Jr. (11) in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Yeah, no, we knew after the game that there was a little something that we needed to get looked at. And so we were able to do that. And, you know, he won't be available this week. And we'll just continue monitoring forward. Don't expect it to be extremely long-term, but still a little inconclusive on this time, depending on how he responds. We'll see, but certainly not going to be ready this week."

Looking ahead past Rutgers, Mosley's availability will be key against No. 21 Oregon as the Trojans face their first Big Ten test of the season. Mosley has totaled 13 catches for 255 yards and four touchdowns in three games as his production has been as good as advertised. He leads in receptions and receiving yards, but fellow true freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt is not far behind at 13 catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns.

In addition to updating the status of Mosley, Riley spoke about the process of filling out the new Big Ten injury reports, defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart (listed as Questionable), the USC secondary, and more.

Here's everything Riley said:

Big Ten Requiring Official Injury Reports

"Yeah, obviously it's new this year where we're going to do this I think four times every week, which seems a little tedious, but we'll do what they say. So yeah, we'll obviously have the chance to upgrade or downgrade people as we go throughout the week and try to be as accurate on it as we can."

"And hopefully all our fellow Big Ten participants will be as accurate on that as possible. And we understand the, certainly understand the logic behind it, right, while we're doing it, especially in the world we live in with gambling and some of the other issues out there. Like, we've got no issue with it. So, yeah, we'll continue to update it each day and try to get it as accurate as possible."

"I mean, at the end of the day, you're going to play with the guys that you got. You know, I mean, there's been gamesmanship, obviously, that's gone on in college football forever. But, you know, each coach has got to weigh that because if you don't disclose something and something comes out in terms of gambling or all that down the line, you know, it creates a lot of exposure for yourself personally, for your football program."

"And at the end of the day, the guys that are going to be available are going to go out there and play. The NFL has done this for a long time. This is not that new of a concept. It's just a little new for us."

Jahkeem Stewart Injury Update

Yeah, he went through warmups and just wasn't quite ready to play yet. We said that it had to be perfect and wasn't quite ready yet.

Red Zone Defense

"Well, I mean, great red zone defense starts with stopping the run. I mean, you look at great red zone defenses, number one thing they do is they don't give up rushing touchdowns in the red. And I think once a great defense can eliminate that, then it allows you to focus in on some of the other areas. I mean, I think that's always the first key, and that'll be important for us as we start to get into Big Ten play is making sure we're doing a great job against the run."

"And then I think the other thing down there in the red zone is guys that can make competitive plays. You know, it's a shorter field space. Windows by nature of that, no matter what type of coverage you're playing, are going to be more narrow. And so your guys that can be in position to make some of those competitive plays, whether in man, whether in zone, whether you're blitzing, whether you're not, are really, really important. So we've had some good moments of that."

"We weren't as good at it the other night as we had been in the first two. But as we've told you guys, that's something that the emphasis point of that in this program is at such a high level. And we know how important it's going to be. I promise you, we get to the end of this year, and you go look at the top 10 teams in red zone defense, they're going to all be teams that had pretty darn good years."

Secondary Depth Chart

"I mean, we're definitely more settled in at this point, but you're always, you know, a couple injuries away or a player merging away from making some moves. And we in the secondary have some guys that give us position flexibility, no question. I mean, especially in the safety room, guys that can play both the safeties or the nickel, and we do have a couple of guys in corner room that we think gives us the ability to play some at safety as well."

"And I think some of the time in the offseason spent cross training those guys will pay off. I mean, whether it's, you know, whether it's this week or down the line, things are going to happen. They always do in this game. And that was a big focus point for us in the off season. We did not want to use their crutch of, ‘Oh, well, You know, it's the first year in this defense, so these guys can only play one.’"

"Like, we knew we were going to need it at some point. And we do a good job, I think, of trying to teach these guys a system holistically. You know, one, so that they can play well together, but two, if that need arises, that they're ready to jump over to another position and help the team."

On Expanded Travel Rosters

"Well, I mean, definitely a combination of both, and it's nice to be able to get to 80 now. It levels a little bit. That's been a competitive disadvantage that hasn't been talked about in college football for a long time, right? It's like you go play somebody on the road, you can only travel for a while at 70, and obviously it kind of inched up a little bit. Whereas the home team can, they may only travel that many, but they can go put as many on the sideline and play as many as they want."

"I think to get it up to 80 was good, especially with some of the ways that the rosters have changed, the season's lengthening. It obviously is advantageous for us, again, because of the big freshman class and group of newcomers that we brought in. So we're certainly going to feature, obviously, the guys that are going to play, the guys that have an opportunity to play."

"But also within that, we'll have a few guys that may not be ready to play quite yet, but may be soon. And the experience for those guys to be there will be really, really helpful. And then we're also going to practice a little bit on Friday, so it gives us a chance to have some guys to practice with as well."

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