Coach Lincoln Riley expresses excitement for USC football LB Jadyn Walker

Spring camp is coming to an end for USC football. There have been some pleasant surprises as well as questions that are left unanswered heading into summer workouts. For the most part, the past couple of weeks have gone as expected for practices that are held around this time of year. There are a couple of lingering injuries, but there have fortunately not been any major setbacks there either.

Speaking with reporters after practice, coach Lincoln Riley spoke with reporters about the linebacking crew. Typically, the media will get a form of coach speak, and that's a reasonable approach that's hard to get mad at. Yes, fans would like to hear more enticing tidbits, but in a lot of programs, answering the questions without creating too much of a further distraction is the goal. 

When talking about Jadyn Walker, however, the HC's words went a little further than that. Coach Riley made sure to illustrate how pleased he was with the redshirt freshman's progress. Not that he wasn't excited when speaking about the rest of his team, but there was something of a noticeable uptick in his voice when talking about the LB.

As is, that is a group that isn't particularly deep. For those looking to the portal, that's an area of need for many in terms of a potential area for the staff to upgrade the roster. That also means that the current athletes in the room will have to be ready and will be expected to play significant snaps. Even if it isn't right away or as a starter, there appear to be opportunities for minutes for the younger linebackers on the Trojans.

With Walker having come off a shoulder injury, causing him to miss regular practice time, he's getting his first good run of evaluation by the staff. He was healthy toward the end of the year, but trying to assess while being engaged in the regular season schedule can be a lot to juggle at once while trying to stay as competitive as possible. Although he did see snaps during the Las Vegas Bowl.

Walker appears ready for prominent USC football role

Now ready to tackle the upcoming 2025 season, Walker is already making up for lost time and looks like he'll be able to fill the role that will be asked of him by the staff. Coach Riley spoke on this aspect regarding the second-year player in the program. He elaborated: 

"His body's dramatically changed. And he's just come out here more confident. No question, he's going to help this football team a lot, and he's going to be a really bright spot when you're going to look at the future as well."

So far, Walker is someone that the staff and those on-site continually express excitement about. Combining the bowl season and spring camp, he's had an extended period of time to get himself ready, as coach Riley mentioned, and appears on track to make a large impact come the fall for USC football.