USC Coach Lincoln Riley Gets Real About Creativity Behind Play Designing

Lincoln Riley is widely regarded as one of the brightest offensive minds in college football. The USC Trojans coach appeared on the NFL Network earlier this week and discussed part of his creative process.

Nov 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

When talking about the great offensive minds in college football, USC coach Lincoln Riley would certainly be on the short list. 

His play designs, dating back to his days as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, have been innovative and on full display in front of a national audience. The ability to think outside the box has led to him consistently having high-octane offenses over the last decade. It makes sense, he comes from the Mike Leach coaching tree. 

Nov 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

“One we’ve had great staff members. There’s been a lot of collaboration in the room," USC coach Lincoln Riley said on the NFL Network's "Super Bowl Live" on Monday. "Normally most good ideas start with this will be dumb but we’re going to try it anyway and every now and then they hit.

"It’s fun to be in a creative room and fun to be at a place with a lot of great skill sets to work with, where you feel like you can do a lit bit of anything and try to keep people off guard. And have a chance to move the ball and score points and go win.”

The GT and GH Counter have become a staple at the collegiate level and somewhat in the NFL. It was popularized by Riley early in his Oklahoma days and now it’s almost impossible to watch a college football game in the fall and not see at least one team using it or some variation with more teams spreading out on offense. 

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Riley runs an Air Raid offense coming from the Leach coaching tree, but the USC coach has put an emphasis on running ball to keep a balanced approach. 

“It’s hard to win at a high level without being able to run the ball effectively,” Riley said. “Being able to close out games, convert those short yardage plays, goal line plays that a lot of these games come down to it.”

Dec 30, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches in the first half against the TCU Horned Frogs during the Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Trojans also uses GT Counter to run RPO’s and as a way improve their screen game to get their playmakers the ball in space. 

Riley will run Shallow Screens out of various formations, a play where the ball is caught behind the line of scrimmage, so the downfield blocking is legal. It’s tough to defend with man coverage and been huge for USC on third downs over the years.

Creativity with Play Designs 

Sep 13, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Riley's offense is always evolving. He does a phenomenal job of scheming players open, particularly with trick plays. In 2023, the Trojans coach left college football stunned in a late season matchup against Washington when he ran a flea flicker off a jet sweep from his wide receiver. 

It was a long-winded play that requires attention to detail by every player involved. The play ended with Caleb Williams connecting with a wide-open Tahj Washington for a 41-yard touchdown. 

This past season, USC ran a different variation of the flea flicker that featured a wide zone with the running back. Again, it has to be sold by every player. The play resulted in a touchdown after a brilliant catch-and-run by Makai Lemon when they ran in against Illinois in week 5 but was called by for illegal man downfield. 

Riley kept that one on the back of his play card and ran it again against Nebraska in week 10 early in the fourth quarter when the Trojans trailed by three. Jayden Maiava connected with Jaden Richardson for a 43-yard completion and sparked what proved to be the game-winning drive to complete a second half comeback. 

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson ran a fake stumble with his quarterback Jared Goff when he was the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator in 2024. Riley ran a similar version against Northwestern in week 11, except it was with receiver Ja’Kobi Lane doing the stumble before running his route. It drew a pass interference in the end zone. Inspiration comes from everywhere, at any time as a play caller.