USC offensive lineman to try to return for seventh season of college football

The USC offensive line has been a hot topic all season long. And on Thursday, USC head coach Lincoln Riley said that one of his depth pieces in that position group, Gino Quinones, may be back next year for a seventh year of college football.

"My understanding is he’s going to try to," Riley said. "He’s got a year left either way. He’s working to try to determine if that’s one or two. So we’ll see obviously how that unfolds. The second group, we’ve definitely been aided by Killian getting back. Losing him early in the season definitely factored into some things. We stayed pretty healthy with the first unit, so we haven’t had a ton of moving parts there. We’ve been fortunate that way. But you know, Killian has taken a lot of reps. Justin Taunauu has taken a lot of reps – we’ve been really pleased with his progress.

"Tobias Raymond has taken a lot of reps – also very pleased with his progress as well. I think he’s one of the more improved players on our entire roster. Amos has continued taking a lot of reps, and one of the guys that’s really stepped up is Kaleb Miller. We’ve been really proud of his development. He’s got a real chance here as time goes on, does some really good things. Banuelos has been out for a while, but had a chance to get him, Makai Saina, to get those guys out on the practice field in the last week to 10 days which has kind of bolstered the second unit some, and certainly our scout teams as well. Honestly, our depth there right now is probably as good as it's been. Lolo is back off of injury as well. It’s probably the best it’s been since even before training camp. So in a good place there."

For his career, Quinones has been mainly a backup for the Trojans In 19 career appearances, he's made two starts.

A member of the 2019 recruiting class, he was At the time, the Hawaii native was a defensive end. He was rated a 3-star prospect according to 247Sports.com.

Injuries have been an issue throughout his career. In 2019, as he redshirted, he dealt with a wrist injury.

Then, in 2020, he redshirted again as players were not forced to count that COVID-19-shortened season against their eligibility. 2021 saw him play in five games, all on special teams as a redshirt sophomore.

The next season, he appeared in all 14 games, again mostly on special teams. He also made two starts, one against Arizona State and one in the Cotton Bowl against Tulane.

2023 was another injury-plagued year as he played in only two games before missing the remainder of the year. Then, this year he was expected to compete for a starting spot however he appeared mainly on special teams in the first five games of the season.

But since before the Maryland game, he's been listed as out for the year with an undisclosed injury. Because he has had two redshirt seasons (one thanks to COVID-19) and two medical redshirt seasons, Quinones may actually have two years of college football remaining. Riley sounds confident that his backup guard will give it another go in 2025 at the very least.