Lincoln Riley’s spring preparations for USC have hit an unexpected snag with a significant injury on the offensive line. But in classic Riley fashion, the head coach is already deploying a creative, versatile solution from within the roster to plug the critical gap at center.

Following the sidelining of USC’s primary center, Kilian O’Connor, during spring practice, the Trojans’ head coach has turned to one of his versatile players, Tobias Raymond, to salvage the situation.

“With Kilian out right now, it was just something that made a lot of sense,” Riley said, talking about Raymond playing center. “And not just that, when we looked at everybody else that we wanted to rep this spring, it was the best way to rep some of these other guys at tackles, some of these other guys at guard. And we moved Tobias around. He hasn’t worked solely as a center this spring, but yeah, it’s good for his development. He’s been around. 

“He’s done some things physically in there that you really, really like. And it’ll create more competition at center and give us, I think, more depth and more versatility when the fall gets here.”

In 2025, Raymond started all of USC’s 13 games, playing across three positions. The offensive lineman played left tackle, left guard, and right guard. And while he is yet to play at center in college, Riley has found him to be a suitable piece to help mitigate the effects of O’Connor’s absence. O’Connor’s 2025 season ended abruptly due to a knee injury against the Oregon Ducks, which has kept him on the sidelines ever since.

But with Raymond, USC has an answer. His versatility had been evident since high school, where his coaches, who noticed the insane athleticism he showed as an offensive tackle, decided to deploy him at tight end ahead of his senior year. 

There is not much to worry about USC’s offensive line in the long run. The program has had every starting member of its offensive line return for the 2026 season, leading it not to add any offensive linemen in the transfer portal. However, they have a mind-blowing group of freshmen who are good enough to give the main guys a run for their money.

“Before he got dinged up, I mean, Breck (Kolojay) was the furthest along. And I think he’ll factor in for us some way, somehow, based on what we saw the first couple of weeks,” said Riley. “Kannon Smith, we’ve repped him at center. He’s been really impressive. (Keenyi) Pepe has a lot of really good reps. Vlad (Dyakonov) has a lot of really good reps. Those are probably the guys who have stood out the most up to this point. All the group showed some flashes, but those four are probably a little bit ahead in terms of their development right now.

Lincoln Riley looks to recruitment to fix USC problems

Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans are keen on building on what they have ahead of the coming years. After missing the playoffs in 2025, their focus on recruitment shows how keen they are to get back to their best.

“Program’s gotten better, the university’s investment’s gotten better. Everything about the program has gotten better, and with that, you’re going to have recruits that take notice and want to be a part of it,” Riley said.

Their 2026 recruiting class is already loaded with top-tier talent, featuring the nation’s No. 1 offensive tackle in Keenyi Pepe and the No. 1 edge rusher in Luke Wafle, signaling Riley’s commitment to building elite lines on both sides of the ball.

Coupled with their top-ranked position in the 2026 recruiting class, the 247Sports Composite also ranks them fourth in the 2027 class, behind only Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M, and Ohio State Buckeyes.