LOS ANGELES — Rebuilding the offensive line has been a lengthy process for USC football coach Lincoln Riley and his staff.
Last season, the offensive line came together and played through adversity and injuries, with depth at the position being a key factor for success.
Guided by offensive line coach Zach Hanson, who is entering his second year at the helm after coaching the tight ends in 2024, the group has even more talent this year.
In addition to last year’s starting unit returning, a handful of players who were on the team last season will be competing for more playing time this year, plus seven freshmen are already on campus and participating in spring practices.
Building off last year’s success, the unit is poised to take its largest leap forward since Riley took over the program in 2022.
“I think we’ve stayed pretty steady and consistent in our process there, both in what we’re recruiting, developing. We’ve tried really hard to retain guys and have some consistency and continuities,” Riley said after Tuesday’s practice. “… I mean, this group’s kind of set up exactly like you want it. The depth, the talent, not just being at the top or at the bottom, but pretty well dispersed throughout the entire room is like what you want, especially in a room that big and that important.”
Riley likened the process of building the offensive line group to the construction of the Bloom Football Performance Center, a state-of-the-art, three-story hub for USC student-athletes that oversees the practice fields.
USC broke ground on the facility in November of 2024, and it’s set to open this summer.
“You have a lot of returning guys, a lot of guys that are homegrown in this program, guys that have played a lot, and then you’ve got a kind of that next tier of a lot of really talented guys that I think we have several that are going to push to play right now,” Riley said. “So that room is kind of like this building right now. You know it started as a hole in the ground and it looks pretty good right now. It’ll be fun to watch that group come together.”
Elijah Vaikona and Willi Wascher are two of the returning offensive linemen who are looking to make an immediate impact after redshirting last season.
Vaikona said he has grown both physically and mentally since last season, learning from the experienced linemen who played in front of him. He is also the tallest player listed on the spring roster, standing 6-foot-8.
“I got to sit behind Justin [Tauanuu], Tobias [Raymond] and Elijah [Paige] last year, and that was great. I learned a lot of things. See college football for what it is and really experience it,” Vaikona said. “And then just asking questions. I asked a lot of questions last year. Sometimes they seemed annoying, but it was just for me to learn and they were really helpful with me.”
Behind last year’s stout line, quarterback Jayden Maiava passed for 3,711 yards (which led the Big Ten Conference) and 24 touchdowns.
This year could prove to be even more fruitful with the wealth of talent and experience on the line protecting him.
“It starts up there. It starts up front. I can’t get the ball unless those five guys are on it and locked into their assignments, which they have been,” Maiava said. “All spring, even the pre-walkthroughs before spring, they’ve just been doing such a great job stacking these days, leading up to this moment. I feel comfortable back there.”
THREE PLAYERS OUT FOR REST OF SPRING PRACTICE
Senior running back Waymond Jordan was seen on a knee scooter at practice Tuesday, as were tight ends Tucker Ashcraft and Walter Matthews.
Riley said all three players had to have minor procedures during last week’s break, but he believes they will all be ready to go in time for training camp.
