Rare find helps power USC offense

Using two at tight end offers versatility and creates mismatches, coach says

- BY RYAN KARTJE

TIGHT END Walker Lyons exits the field after the host Trojans beat the Spartans on Saturday night.

Walker Lyons took his place in the slot and looked right. Lake McRee crouched on the opposite wing and looked left. The two Trojan tight ends had spent all last Saturday night moving around USC's formations - split out wide, in the backfield, on the line of scrimmage paving rush lanes and creating mismatches wherever they went.

Now it was third and short, early in the third quarter of USC’s win over Michigan State, and the two of them were on the field together again, forcing the Spartan defense to decide in a hurry just how Lincoln Riley planned to deploy them.

That unpredictability was precisely the point of the position. It’s why the tight end has been a critical tenet of his Riley's offense since he started as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator in 2015. No other position, Riley has come to believe, adds more versatility to an offense.

"It's the one piece that really can truly do everything," Riley said. "But it's also the hardest piece to find."

During his first three seasons as the Trojans coach, Riley struggled to find that unicorn for his USC offense. Let alone two — or even three — at the same time.

In his first season, in 2022, tight ends accounted for just over 3% of the Trojans' receiving yards. That number rose to 6% in 2023, then 8% in 2024.