LOS ANGELES — The USC football program is embracing change this season, and not just when it comes to a shift in developmental focus. One of the most noticeable differences has been in how the Trojans arrived at the Coliseum on Saturday for their game against Missouri State.
All players wore matching all-black warmups – a striking contrast to the highly individualized gameday outfits that players were able to choose for themselves last season.
“There’s been a lot of changes in our program, particularly in the last couple of months,” head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters after the game. “And if you ask these guys, we don’t show up to a meeting, we don’t really do anything unless it’s all together.”
The change represents a unification within the team, according to the Trojans, and a willingness to trust in the Leadership Council.
The council is comprised of players and coaches who have been selected by Riley or recommended by teammates. They’re consulted throughout the season for feedback on decisions that will affect the entire team.
“This is one of the bigger ones that we’ve had,” Riley told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s important and we rely on those conversations and that feedback when we make some of the decisions for the team.
“It’s a good, healthy group right now. It’s a good mix of staff and players, and so far, the group has been taking it really personal. That’s how you want them to take it.”
Offensive lineman Tobias Raymond – who started at left guard on Saturday – told reporters that the council is ego-less and has opportunities to make an immediate impact in addition to participating in more long-term decision-making.
Players and coaches keep each other in check, making sure that no hats are worn during meetings, drills are done correctly during individual periods and the energy is always high.
“When we’re in practice and energy is low, it’s on us to come try and bring it back up together,” Raymond said. “That’s obviously something that we’re all still learning, but I think that’s kind of the main goal of the leadership council is to come together and figure out like, OK, what are we going to do at this time?”
The collective decision to have a unified gameday look is a permanent one, at least for this season. Some variation in accessories appears to be allowed – some players had heavy jewelry draped around their neck and others had swaths of tropical flowers or leaves.
Others, like running back Eli Sanders, kept the look simple.
“The tracksuit’s cool,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Being a team, being professional. I didn’t have any accessories on. I had some headphones with wires on – I know it’s kind of outdated, but that’s what I rocked with.”
This team decision is a noticeable and public one, but some leadership council conversations stay behind closed doors.
Riley, quarterback Jayden Maiava and safety Bishop Fitzgerald sat at the podium together during Saturday’s postgame press conference and when a reporter asked about the matching warmups, Fitzgerald and Riley immediately looked toward a smiling Maiava.
“That’s stuff that we just discuss as a team,” Maiava said when asked about the smile. “‘Unify’ is a huge one for us, and we’re all just trying to move as one, and move together.”
