USC Trojans’ Lincoln Riley addresses controversial decision to close practice

USC Trojans trainer Lincoln Riley received backlash for the Trojans’ performance on the field in their disappointing 4–4 start to the season. Now add something from the field to the list.

USC announced Monday that no more media will be allowed to train until the end of the season. Previously, media representatives were allowed to observe the first minutes of training. There is no more of this.

What was Riley’s reason for this?

Lincoln Riley decides to close the practice

The first question USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley was asked after Tuesday’s practice was why he decided to close practices to the media for the rest of the season.

“Took stock of some things last week,” Riley said. “There have been some changes made to how we do pre-training within the short week.”

USC had a short week hosting Rutgers on their last trip. Friday’s game set back some practice and media time. With USC’s big win and a faltering three-game winning streak, it doesn’t look like Riley wants to change anything heading into this game.

“We liked the way our team handled it and responded to it,” Riley said.

He’s not wrong. USC exploded and took an early 21-3 halftime lead. USC then held off a Rutgers comeback and scored several late touchdowns to take the lead. comfortable win 42-20.

“Because of this, we continue to do a lot of the things we did last week,” Riley said. “To be honest, it just didn’t make sense.”

Riley had no further comment on the decision.

Riley and USC under fire for closure practices

This isn’t the first time Lincoln Riley has decided to block his team’s practice from reporters and members of the media. According to On3, Riley blocked media access while coaching at Oklahoma during a defensive dispute Caleb Williams and Spencer Rattler in 2021.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg very rightly criticized Riley, noting that dominant USC teams in the past didn’t care about having the media present at practices.

If USC had lost to Rutgers, would this have continued? Is it possible that this is a superstitious decision because the Trojans won? Perhaps the team simply performs better during the week of preparation, when there are no reporters following them.

One thing is for sure: If USC turns this season around and gets five straight wins before the end of the year, most USC fans won’t care whether practices are shut down or not.