Urban Meyer Reveals Criticisms of USC Trojans' Lincoln Riley: 'Lost Momentum'

Former Florida Gators, Ohio State Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer revealed his thoughts on the USC Trojans football program under the leadership of coach Lincoln Riley after a large number of transfer portal departures.

Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes former head coach Urban Meyer walks by the end zone during the first half between Michigan and Ohio State at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. / Detroit Free Press-Imagn Images

Legendary college football coach Urban Meyer revealed some of his thoughts on the current state of the USC Trojans program under the leadership of coach Lincoln Riley. In a recent conversation with media personality Colin Cowherd, Meyer talked about the lack of momentum surrounding the Trojans.

“I like Lincoln Riley, he’s always been very good to me," said Meyer to Cowherd. "I coached against him in one of his early games. They beat us when he was the head coach at Oklahoma. I love his offensive scheme. I’m saying all the right things because I believe it should work. . . . Once you lose momentum, it’s hard to get back. And USC lost momentum.” 

Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes former head coach Urban Meyer walks by the end zone during the first half between Michigan and Ohio State at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. / Detroit Free Press-Imagn Images

The Trojans shocked the college football world by hiring Riley away from the Oklahoma Sooners before the 2022 season. In his three years at USC, Riley has a 25-14 record. At Oklahoma, Riley never lost more than two games in a season.

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Meyer won three national championships as a coach in college football, two with the Florida Gators and another with the Ohio State Buckeyes. He believes that bringing back the momentum to Southern California will be a tall task for Riley.

"I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt because it’s not his first rodeo. He did a really good job at Oklahoma. I think he’ll get it back, I really do. But the minute you lose momentum, you got to really turn up the heat now to get that momentum back, and that’s got to be, you got to get some prized recruit. You got to win some games, because if you continue to lose momentum, this will end poorly," said Meyer.

After the 2024 season, the USC Trojans have lost 19 players to the transfer portal, including key roster pieces like wide receivers Zachariah Branch, Duce Robinson, and Kyron Hudson as well as quarterback Miller Moss and safety Zion Branch.

Oct 5, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley looks on during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Despite losing a decent chunk of the roster to the transfer portal, Riley and the Trojans have also gained some commitments from impact players through the transfer portal like Kentucky defensive lineman Keeshawn Silver, San Jose State cornerback DJ Harvey, and most recently, Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Jah Jarrett.

In addition, Riley seemingly followed Meyer's advice by signing five-star defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart out of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the Early National Signing Period. Stewart is the No. 23 overall recruit in the class of 2025, and the No. 1 defensive line recruit according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

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