It was the lowest moment of the season for USC’s young offensive line, a September low point that seemed certain to stick long after the Trojans returned from their first Big Ten trip. But two months later, as Lincoln Riley reflects on where the tide began to turn for his Trojan front, the coach, somewhat surprisingly, points to that nightmarish afternoon in Ann Arbor.
“Since then,” Riley said Tuesday, “I feel like we’ve been on a pretty steady slope all the way.”
Of course, USC’s line had nowhere to go but up after that 27-24 loss to Michigan. Against the Wolverines’ vaunted defensive line, the Trojans’ inexperienced front unraveled. New left tackle Elijah Paige looked lost. The new right guard, Alani Noa, was on the bench for halftime. In total, USC allowed 22 quarterback pressures, the most since Riley became coach.
What once felt like a promising future for the Trojans up front had become particularly bleak within an afternoon.
Fans immediately focused their ire on Josh Henson, whose third season as USC offensive line coach would be a litmus test for the Trojans’ long-term trajectory up front. But as USC dropped four of five games and frustration with Henson simmered, Riley urged patience. He had seen the progress of the line with his own eyes, he promised.
“We believe that group can be really damn good,” Riley said in September, “and I expect that to be the case this year.”
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Those guarantees did not actually arrive at the end of September. But now in late November, with No. 5 Notre Dame and its fearsome front on Saturday, there’s no denying the leap USC’s line has made.
“We’ve just gotten better,” Riley said. “We were left with it. Coach Henson’s leadership, Jonah’s leadership [Monheim]from Emmanuel [Pregnon]I think it’s a combination of all that, and it’s obviously been critical, especially in this period of late.”
A strong second half of the season doesn’t eliminate all the bigger questions surrounding USC’s offensive line. However, it appears that any concerns about whether Henson will return for a fourth season have been put to rest.
Asked about Henson’s performance last week, Riley pointed to the recent success of the rushing attack and the development of several young linemen, noting that Henson had “done a really good job.”
Chief among those successes was Paige, the 6-foot-4 tackle who turned heads during training camp. But against Michigan, in his first real test at left tackle, Paige looked completely overmatched. His self-confidence continued to waver in the weeks that followed, as he struggled with what Paige calls “growing pains.”
The middle of this season, he admits, “was tough.” Over a four-game span, starting with his lone half against Michigan, Paige allowed fifteen pressures, the most of any Power Four lineman during the same period.
But Riley continued to believe in Paige and reiterated his belief in the redshirt freshman when asked. And within the offensive line, Henson’s message remained the same for Paige and all his young, developing linemen: stay the course.
“Through hard work and faith in the process, things will get better,” Paige said, “and they did.”
With USC winning three of four games over the past month, Paige has only allowed four total pressures. He hasn’t given up a sack since September.
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“He’s just a young guy who had lumps early on, and this is what happens,” Riley said. ‘Just take a few. You keep fighting. And suddenly you look up and the guy is playing at a pretty good level. So he’s been quite good for us in the last few weeks, on a really good track, the confidence is growing. And I think Josh played a big role in that.
Where things go from here is yet to be determined, with USC set to lose its two most consistent starting linemen in the coming weeks. Monheim will depart for the NFL after the season, leaving a gaping hole at center with no clear heir apparent, while left guard Emmanuel Pregnon recently committed to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl, presumably indicating he plans to commit as well report for the draft .
Neither will be easily replaced next season, with little proven internal depth waiting in the wings.
But on Tuesday, during a development period at the end of practice, Riley found himself keeping a close eye on his young offensive linemen and feeling pretty good about where the future was headed up front.
“We have a lot of good young linemen who are talented and are going to be good players,” Riley said. ‘It’s been a while. Probably long before I was here, until that was the case. You’re starting to see a few years of work, recruitment and development here.
“I think there are a lot of guys who are going to be big players for us.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.