LOS ANGELES — USC football coach Lincoln Riley stepped behind the podium inside the sparkling new Bloom Football Performance Center, a place that isn’t even allowed to be visually documented in any way by reporters or photojournalists yet.
He practically glowed with excitement as he launched into a nearly four-minute opening statement following the first practice of fall camp that reporters were able to observe, but not report on.
“These first few days in here have honestly been a little bit of a dream,” he told reporters. “It’s honestly been hard to get players to go home. I haven’t left this place in five days.”
The optimism that sprouted when the Trojans signed the No. 1 recruiting class of 2026 in December is rolling into fall camp, and was evident Saturday on the eve of the first day of practice in pads.
USC spring football practices started exceptionally early March 3, and all but three freshmen had enrolled early and were on campus to take part in them. Working ahead has USC moving with confidence through its first two practices of fall camp Friday and Saturday.
The Trojans have bypassed the settling-in period that typically happens on the scorching-hot turf of August.
“We’ve been able to identify some leaders early,” Riley said. “I think you’re starting to maybe identify the personality of this team a little bit earlier with all we’ve done and kind of feeling like they’re here, and you’re not waiting on this missing piece to show up, and then it shows up, and then you figure it out.”
It’s all but given that some freshmen, with 35 on the roster, will get significant playing time this season. Their early arrival on campus has them ahead of schedule in terms of team chemistry and ability, and allowed the coaching staff to dig into more aggressive training and installations.
“Some of their bodies have really started to change and look a little bit less like high school bodies and more like college bodies,” Riley said.
“The first time you go to college, everything’s new, right? Doesn’t matter if you’re playing sports or not. And so the less that we can have ‘new’ as we go on, the more these guys settle in off the field on the field, the better they play.”
Riley didn’t name any specific freshmen who stood out, but did mention a transfer and two returners who could have breakout seasons: Wisconsin transfer tight end Tucker Ashcroft, receiver Zacharyus Williams and cornerback Alex Graham.
Construction crews are on site to put the finishing touches on the Bloom Center, which has a completion date of late summer. Lettering and plaques are being added inside as well as outside, and construction crews in hard hats hover on the sidewalks.
On the field, everything seems to be coming together.
“You’re talking about some powerful moments, man, with these guys all here together,” Riley said. “That part felt different, because you just know there’s not anything else coming. We got what we got. And here we go.”
Tanook Hines limited
Sophomore Tanook Hines, who is the only receiver from the two-deep depth chart to return this season, is physically limited due to an undisclosed injury, but Riley said he expects him to be ready to go for USC’s season opener against San Jose State on Aug. 29.
“Don’t expect anything overly serious with that at all,” Riley said.
Hines is currently the most limited player, Riley said, but he’s still working out.
Freshman receiver Roderick Tezeno underwent a procedure after a foot injury sustained in spring but is expected to be back early in spring.
Otherwise, the roster is healthy, including former Iowa State cornerback Jontez Williams and returning cornerbacks Prophet Brown and Chasen Johnson.
Brown missed all of last season due to a non-contact injury in fall camp and Johnson played in only two games due to a knee injury. Williams, who was rated the No. 1 cornerback in the transfer portal, played in five games before sustaining a knee injury.
Keeping a healthy cornerback room will be critical to building a unit under new defensive coordinator Gary Patterson that will be capable of competing in the Big Ten Conference.
“Sometimes guys who have been out for a while have an injury like those two had, and you see a little bit of mental hesitation,” Riley said. “And these guys are chomping at it. We’re having to hold them back a little bit, which you like to see.”