USC Trojans freshman quarterback Husan Longstreet may be throwing a wrench in Lincoln Riley's plans
The USC Trojans may have a good problem on their hands as they approach spring football. It's still a problem that throws a wrench in head coach Lincoln Riley's plans, but it's pretty much a good problem to have. It means he is doing something right. The Trojans have been on a tear lately when […]
The USC Trojans may have a good problem on their hands as they approach spring football. It's still a problem that throws a wrench in head coach Lincoln Riley's plans, but it's pretty much a good problem to have. It means he is doing something right.
The Trojans have been on a tear lately when it comes to recruiting, and I'm not sure anyone would dispute that. They are flipping recruits left and right, and for the recruits that aren't committed yet but were leaning a way opposite of the Trojans, they are now leaning towards USC. No one is doing it better on that front right now.
But college football isn't all about recruiting. You have to win the games, too. The talent you recruit has to translate to the field. Last season, that wasn't the case for the Trojans. This season, it could be.
And, it helps that you have a very talented roster. However, they really don't know who the quarterback will be. Sure, we can all assume it will be Jayden Maiava, who ended last season as the quarterback. But, Riley said the best man will play.
And then he went on to mention that their five-star true freshman QB, Husan Longstreet, could be ready to play at some point this year.
"Husan is further ahead than most freshmen at this time," Riley told reporters as they opened up spring practice. "I mean, the advantage of being able to come in for a little bit of the bowl practice, to be in some of those meetings, to set up where this wasn't his first actual college practice today was pretty cool.
"And then he did a great job of taking advantage of being a local guy, and he was here as much as the rules would allow. He came to a lot of meetings, came to a lot of practices on his own time, on his own dime. And it's paid off because he's way further ahead than most guys would be at this age. So his ability to communicate and manage the group right now as a young guy is pretty impressive."
So it seems he has a problem — Longstreet could be ready by the time the season approaches, and now he has two guys who can be a starter at the Big 10 level. That's a problem, but a good problem to have. As spring football continues, you will likely start to see the two separate themselves from each other in terms of their game. The differences will start to show.
And then, it will start to become clearer who the quarterback will be.
