What Lincoln Riley, players said after USC's 7th spring practice of 2023
LOS ANGELES — USC football had its seventh spring practice of 2023 on Tuesday. Our two biggest takeaways from the post-practice press conference session were Lincoln Riley's comments about the team's tight end depth and quarterback Caleb Williams' remarks about the players who have impressed him so far in camp.
Here's more of what Riley and Williams had to say in addition to other noteworthy comments from center Justin Dedich and wideout Michael Jackson III.
Riley on USC redshirt freshman defensive lineman Devan Thompkins:
"We're messing with him a little bit at several positions...He's doing some good things. Playing inside for him is a little new. But you look at his body and how he's grown, some of it is us projecting towards the future of what he'll grow into. He's probably more comfortable, today, playing out on the edge, but obviously we're playing the long game here a little bit. He'll get a look at both spots in the spring...I think the kid's got a really bright future."
Riley on sophomore running back/wide receiver Raleek Brown:
"We're using this spring to move him around some and experiment some to try and get a full idea of what he really can handle."
Williams on Raleek Brown:
"He's a special guy, a special talent. The way he can move and break people down when he gets into open space is pretty special...Getting the ball in his hands and letting him go to work and do his thing, that's his speciality. His hands are probably a lot better than what people think and his route running, we're working on it. He has the natural talent for it, it's just a lot of small things [he can work on] because he wasn't working on those in the past year."
Riley on his running back room:
"That room has been a real bright spot here in camp. We've been impressed with the older guys in that room and then we've been really impressed with the young guys. Everyday those guys show up and they make some big plays. With having five guys back there that we're pretty excited about, it's allowed us to move Raleek around. We'll evaluate it."
On defensive analyst Greg Brown:
"Greg is going to be in that senior analyst role. It can be really valuable to have a guy like that that's extremely experienced, that's been responsible for the whole thing, that comes in and can offer fresh perspective and that's not solely responsible for one position group. He's really an overall advisor for our defensive staff and myself...We vetted several different people for this. It's hard to find somebody that's good enough and experienced enough, that has the right demeanor to come in and do this...He's been a great fit and I think he's going to help us a ton."
Williams on the offensive line:
"There's a lot of comfort between myself and the o-line."
Williams on who has stood out on the defensive line:
"Kyon Barrs, Jamil Muhammad and Anthony Lucas have been the three that have popped out to me. Korey Foreman has been making a lot more noise."
Dedich on Michael Tarquin:
"He's an experienced player coming from the SEC so even me and Jonah, some of the guys that have been here, we're asking him questions, learning from him. He's very experienced. Obviously, every coach has their own techniques so we're trying to help him out to figure out Coach Henson's techniques a little bit...He's willing to learn and that's awesome to see. He's been playing at the tackles and he's been doing pretty well."
Jackson on which cornerbacks have impressed him in camp:
"Domani Jackson, who's coming off an injury, has been pretty good. Jacobe Covington and Ceyair Wright have been pretty good as well...Domani has a lot of raw talent, he just needs to work on the technical aspect."
