The USC Trojans are already dealing with one injured wideout ahead of their Sept. 26 matchup with Oregon, and Terrell Anderson has become part of that conversation too.
Anderson, the North Carolina State transfer, has been limited by an undisclosed injury and has seen only a small role in his USC debut. Lincoln Riley addressed that situation in his final press conference before the No.
12 Trojans meet the No. 20 Ducks.
“He was a big add. But he had an injury that he was dealing with that essentially knocked him out for the majority of training camp.”
That slow start has been shaped by more than just the injury. Riley said the rise of younger receivers has also cut into Anderson’s opportunities.
“I think that combined with the emergence of the young guys has slowed some of his opportunities.”
The good news for USC is that Anderson appears to be trending in the right direction. Riley said last week marked the first full healthy week Anderson has had, and he expects more progress from here.
“But he's now getting himself back. Last week was the first full healthy week he's had. He's much better this week and I'd imagine he's just going to continue to get better moving forward.”
Riley made clear he still sees Anderson as a major piece for the Trojans once he’s fully back up to speed.
“So Terrell is a heck of a player. And he's going to definitely help us.
There's no question about it. I'm excited about the progress he's making and it's really a little more of a product of the circumstances.
He's just trying to build his body back up and be ready to go. But we're in a much better place than where we were two weeks ago.”
“So I very much believe in the impact he'll make on this team.”
USC will also be without prized freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley against Oregon, leaving the Trojans with another notable absence at receiver for a game Riley expects to bring plenty of juice inside the Coliseum.
“Obviously starting fast is a great thing to be able to do. I think being able to establish momentum and being able to settle into the game is always great.”
“Winning the first quarter is definitely a big deal. I mean, all parts are important.”
“But I think it's always great to start it off and give yourself the best chance possible. The keys for it are settling in to give yourself the best chance possible.”
“When you get a game like this, it's going to have the energy and competitiveness inside the Coliseum. So we're definitely going to have to capitalize on that.”
For Riley, the opening stretch matters - but he also made it clear USC can’t get so wrapped up in the moment that it loses itself.
“It’s not a must [to start fast]. But if you had to pick, you would certainly love to start fast and rode some of that momentum throughout the game.”
“With games like this, there's always a balance. Like, we need to understand the type of atmosphere, intensity and the quality of teams.
You have to sense that to be ready to rise up to that, right? And I've talked to my team about this.”
“But you also don't want to make these things more than what they are. And I've been a part of game where you overdo that and you know there's a fine line.”
“We're trying to hit that perfect spot of mentality. But also settled in and trust what we've been doing leading up to this point. We've got to do a fine job of finding that fine line with our team. but I also want them to go in there and just play our brand of ball.”
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