Lincoln Riley, new USC staff show belief in returning offensive line

LOS ANGELES — Following the 2021 season, USC offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees had a decision to make about his future. Even after a 4-8 season, Vorhees had shown his worth at both guard and tackle, earning third-team All-American honors from The Associated Press.

And for a while, Vorhees was leaning toward entering the NFL Draft. But after a few days, he walked into head coach Lincoln Riley’s office and informed him he was returning for a final year at USC.

The losing record had left a sour taste in Vorhees’ mouth, one he wanted to erase. But there was something more, too.

“It was evident to me the culture change that Coach Riley was going to bring,” Vorhees said. “I really saw that he was committed to this university and this team and to winning and I knew that that was what it was going to be about and I bought into that.”

The decisions by Vorhees and fellow sixth-year senior Brett Neilon to return for their final seasons of eligibility have given USC a head start remaking the offensive line under Riley. The group returns four starters from last year’s group, with redshirt sophomores Courtland Ford and Jonah Monheim looking to build off rocky 2021 campaigns.

It’s been a much-maligned unit at USC for several seasons. But despite a mass overhaul of the offense through the transfer portal, Riley has only added one experienced lineman, former Virginia tackle Bobby Haskins, to the position group.

“I like our group,” Riley said Tuesday. “Experience is a tough thing to beat up there, and we’ve got a couple of guys … that are really good players that I think have picked up our stuff very fast.”

This group has had more than its share of experience learning coaches’ philosophies. Vorhees, Neilon and Justin Dedich have had four offensive line coaches during their time at USC, while Ford and Monheim are on their third in three years.

Josh Henson, who also serves as offensive coordinator, is the latest. Coming from Texas A&M, Henson has allowed the veterans in the room to lean on past experiences while offering his opinions, more like a collaboration than orders.

“You kinda build some habits and then you do something and Henson’s like, ‘Hey, why don’t you try this,’” Neilon said. “He’s not like you have to do it this way or you’re wrong-type thing, it’s been great and it just feels like we’re building off a better year where we improved.”

So far, the line looks similar to how it did a year ago. Neilon is a center, with Ford at left tackle and Monheim at the right tackle. Vorhees has moved back to left guard while Dedich is opposite him.

Haskins is expected to compete at left tackle when he is healthy, though Henson cast doubt on Tuesday as to whether or not he would be able to play this spring with his unspecified injury.

Henson is working on terminology and technique with the starters this spring while trying to develop a second and third unit behind them.

“The best lines I’ve been in, we’ve had eight or nine guys that could play,” Henson said. “Because of that competition every day – guys were in there challenging and fighting for jobs – it really elevated the overall play of our line.”

For the veterans, though, it’s another spring with another new offense, learning on the go.

“You just really have to be locked in and communicate down the line, the tackles calling stuff out and whatnot and getting it quick and all being on the same page,” Neilon said of what he’s learned through four practices. “That’s definitely a huge key and just something that we’ll get better at after practice and it’s gonna be good at the end.”