Lincoln Riley’s defense-first approach in evidence at USC spring game

Lincoln Riley realized, after the Alex Grinch and Donte Williams reign of error at USC, that the Trojans needed to be different. They needed to play in a new way. They had to get bigger. They had to become tougher. They had to embrace a physical style of play and ditch the finesse-oriented style of Grinch and the previous regime. Bringing in D’Anton Lynn reflected a commitment to better tactics. Bringing in Matt Entz meant going back to fundamentals. Bringing in Eric Henderson was a reflection of the need to become tougher and do the “dawgwork” needed to be great. Bringing in Doug Belk valued technique and competence in the secondary. All these changes could be seen — and appreciated — in the USC spring game on Saturday in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Afterward, Lincoln Riley praised his defense, as he should have.