USC spring game takeaways: Caleb Williams lives up to hype and others show promise

After months of build-up, Lincoln Riley stood within the Coliseum tunnel Saturday and allowed himself a deep exhale. He’d breathlessly assembled a brand new employees, revamped the roster by way of the switch portal and laid the muse for a brand new workforce tradition, all since his gorgeous rent in late November. Now, in spite of everything that tireless reconstructing, the time had lastly come to unveil the progress.

However first, USC’s new coach allowed himself a second to take pleasure in his first stroll down the stadium’s tunnel. As he did, Riley couldn’t assist however envision what it would really feel like subsequent fall.

“Actually provides you chills,” he mentioned. “Examine your pulse if it doesn’t.”

Not like previous spring video games at USC, there was an precise, discernible pulse to be discovered inside the Coliseum. An introduced crowd of 33,427 was in attendance Saturday — a file for the Trojans since they started monitoring spring sport turnout within the late Nineteen Nineties. All have been desirous to get their first glimpse of Riley and his band of transfers, none of whom we’ve seen a lot of since spring apply started.

“When you’re on this metropolis, and also you don’t really feel the momentum round this program, you’re not paying consideration,” Riley mentioned. “Our guys really feel it proper now.”

So how did these good vibes translate to the sphere Saturday? Right here’s what we noticed in what turned out to be a 34-30 spring scrimmage win for USC’s offense over the Trojans’ protection.