Make California Post a Preferred Source In his first public comments about the suspension of his top linebacker, USC coach Lincoln Riley acknowledged his disappointment in Desman Stephens II – while also making a case for forgiveness.
“I look at him like a son,” Riley said Tuesday evening. “And even a situation where you made a mistake doesn’t change that.”
Riley said the decision to suspend Stephens for one game after his vile celebration following a hit that left Oregon quarterback Dante Moore with a concussion on Saturday was made in collaboration with athletic director Jen Cohen the next morning.
Immediately after the Trojans’ 41-27 loss to the Ducks at the Coliseum, Riley said he did not see the gloating that happened both as Stephens left the field and once he reached the sideline, where he smiled and dapped up teammates in celebration as Moore lay motionless on the field.
“I think just for him, just an awareness of the optics,” Riley said of what disappointed him after having watched the celebration. “Knowing him like I do, do I believe deep down in my heart that he was celebrating over an injured player? No.”
Riley intimated that Stephens getting caught in the heat of the moment contributed to his actions.
“It’s a little difficult to describe to everybody sometimes what it’s like in the arena when you haven’t been in the arena,” Riley said, alluding to those who haven’t played football at a high level. “It’s highly competitive, it’s highly emotional. And so … I’m disappointed with what he did, and he needs to have more awareness because it was a serious situation and we never wanna see anybody down like that ever on any side.”
Asking those who have been castigating Stephens for leniency, Riley said they should consider how they would want the situation handled if the player were their son.
“Our job is to educate him on what he didn’t do well,” said Riley, who also addressed his team about the situation. “There’s a consequence with it – it’s a real consequence. I mean, this is a game [against Washington on Saturday], a conference game, a big game, we don’t get very many of these. So the consequence is real, but we support him. He’s a part of our family, he’s one of ours.”
In the days since the loss to the Ducks, Riley has faced additional criticism about the culture inside his program and his continued inability to win the big games that could catapult the Trojans into the College Football Playoff for the first time in his five seasons.
Riley said he was proud of the program he had built in terms of its roster, recruiting, new practice facility and recent run of academic success. Of course, those things don’t seem to matter much when the team disappoints on the field.
“SC is one of the lightning rod-type places,” Riley said. “Any time there’s one loss or one thing goes wrong, there’s always going to be a sense of, oh my God, the sky is falling on the outside, and your ability to deal with that internally with the players is important and with the staff because the way that you get better and the way that you improve and the way that you accomplish the things that you want is you’ve got to stay steady in your pursuit and you can’t let that affect how you work on a day-to-day basis.”
How would Riley reassure the fan base that everything isn’t falling apart?
“By winning,” he said with a shrug. “Just by winning.”
The No. 18 Trojans (4-1 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) will get a chance to do that against the equally disappointing Huskies (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava said he liked what he had seen the last few dsys from a team that’s doubled down on its resolve.
“Times like these, you tend to see teams fall apart,” Maiava said, “but this team is such a tight team that we’re all bought into each other and we’re all playing for each other out there and I’ve never seen a team as tight as this team.”
What has Maiva seen that makes him believe the team is staying together?
“I’d probably say the accountability that everybody’s taken,” he said, “just the edge and that fiery attitude about wanting to go win.”
But what of their coach, who has come under fire from fans, media and even a few notable alumni such as Keyshawn Johnson? Is he still the right person to lead this program?
“I know he’s the right guy,” offensive tackle Elijah Paige said, “because of all the work that he puts in with us and the culture that he’s built here.”
