On life support, why Riley and USC are putting trust into an unknown group

Lincoln Riley went for it with his freshman class.

Bringing back so many starters, including quarterback Jayden Maiava and the entire offensive line, made the USC coach comfortable with the idea of a huge number of high school prospects.

The result was a 35-member freshman class that’s ranked as the best in the nation.

“I’ve kind of described it to people as the perfect storm,” Riley said Monday during a reporters roundtable held on campus to discuss his roster.

A pool of high school talent that Riley rated as one of the best he’s seen in Southern California combined with increased scholarship limits and so many veteran returners led to a class that the Trojans hope can finally vault them into the College Football Playoff.

Topping the class are consensus five-star offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe, edge rusher Luke Wafle and defensive lineman Jaimeon Winfield. Counting both its nine transfers and incoming high school players, USC boasts a combined 25 four- and five-star newcomers.

Adding to Riley’s excitement is the number of freshmen who are on campus. The coach said 31 or 32 were already around, meaning the team would have a higher percentage of its roster present for offseason workouts and spring practice than any he had previously coached.

“We’re going to have some young talent that is certainly going to contribute and I think our talent there is pretty unique,” Riley said, “but also, the experienced part of this roster is really experienced and really old too. I mean, you start looking at kind of what we return and then you look at historically, what do championship teams and really good teams typically return, we return a lot in those key areas.”

USC returns 16 players who were at least part-time starters, including its most essential player.

Maiava is back after leading the Big Ten with 3,711 passing yards last season while also throwing for 24 touchdowns. Riley said he was seeking a similar leap from his quarterback to the one he made between his first and second seasons in the program.

Running back should be another position of strength. Waymond Jordan is on track to return from the season-ending ankle injury he suffered against Michigan in October and should push King Miller for a starting role, giving the Trojans two quality options.

Wide receiver is more of a question mark. Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane are gone, leaving two major openings. One could be filled by Tanook Hines, who was the team’s third option as a true freshman last season. Terrell Hines, a transfer from North Carolina State, and freshman Trent Mosley should also be part of the rotation.

“Every young receiver on this roster has got a golden opportunity to go step up and do something like Tanook did last year,” Riley said, “where they really go take over a job and go win it.”

New defensive coordinator Gary Patterson will have some intriguing talent to work with as he tries to fix the team’s underperforming unit.

Edge rushers Braylan Shelby and Kameryn Crawford provide a veteran duo that could disrupt any passing attack. Defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart could be primed to step into a starring role after playing through a stress fracture in his foot last season.

The linebacking corps returns starter Desman Stephens II and may have found a replacement for Eric Gentry in Deven Bryant, a transfer from Washington who was among the team leaders with 62 tackles last season.

The secondary will need an overhaul after the departure of three starters. One cornerback spot should be taken by Jontez Williams, the Iowa State transfer who could start opposite Marcelles Williams. 

Christian Pierce and Kennedy Urlacher started at safety in the Alamo Bowl, providing a possible glimpse into the future for a team that wants to write a new ending after the unfulfilled promise of recent seasons.

Asked about the billboards around L.A. featuring the slogan “The Time Is Now,” Riley said the expectations hadn’t changed.

“There’s pressure to win championships here every single year,” Riley said. “You’re in a blue blood program. Even the first year when we didn’t do it, even though we came back and won a bunch more games than they did and probably surpassed a lot of people’s expectations, like, that’s just — you start every year with the goal of doing that.”