And it's not about the results. We know about the Heismans. The points, the records. What I love is that he treats the football game as 60 minutes of teaching. And opportunity.
I HATED Hackett, Robinson, Smith Tollner etc. Even Carroll because when they got way ahead? They treated the clock like it was a disease. They just wanted the game to be over. Of course, many of those weren't often far enough ahead to do this. But Riley gets ahead. Brings in the 2nd and 3rd string and then continues playing.
He expects the backups to play full speed. Expects them to execute. All the other coaches stopped playing when the first string was done. Or worse yet, left the starters in there.
Years ago I got ripped because I pulled all the older players when way ahead and my 9-10 years olds kept playing. I was accused of running up the score. After about the 3rd confrontation, I said "My 9 year olds just kicked the asses of the 12 year olds on that team, so tell me I wasn't being nice. We could have no hit them and won 50-0 if we'd wanted to. I got my youngsters experience and made it more fair. Also made the 9 year old parents happy. F off is you're not smart enough to see that"
Riley gets it, His job is to develop. Protect starters from injury. Rotate people. Create depth by getting guys reps in games where they can develop confidence. Because when Lee gets hurt at Oregon and Curtis needs to go in? Needs to be ready.
Here's another advantage. The more you actually run your offense, the more you learn about guys and what they can do. I learned some kids just did well when the lights go on. Maybe Riley learned that Duce Robinson can be used like Drake London was and can tuck that away. USC might be ablle to use him in match ups later in the year and the kid now has confidence and experience.
Get the butterflies and mistakes out of the way now. Keep dad and mom happy. Keep kids motivated. Rest your starters. Develope depth and confidence.
Man this Riley guy is a genius. He gets it. If they can solve this defensive problem, I think he could be an all time great
Don;t know. he hasn't won anything; his offense and play calling are really disjointed. Seems more concerned on feeding CW's stats than getting the O in a rhythm. And then there is his lack of time management.
I'd take chow any day of the week and twice on sundays.
Really good post.
Thinking I have to say CW has a lot to do with it but then I remember CLR's Okie run with Baker, Kyler and Hurts and I think it proves your point more than mine.
Now that was a great post.
Did not know big game bob's history.
Never seen a quarterback like Caleb William. Hate to waste a once in a generation talent .
But you are probably right , this team doesn't have the depth anyways. sc
Its a good point about playing non-starters. Refreshing to see.
It was Nevada, you turd.
In the transfer portal era, rotating players letting them showcase skills while improving is more important than ever. /Its important for winning but also for retaining talent. They have a tema of young men enjoying the game while getting paid and showcasing.
We got unbelievably lucky to be able to hire him. Premier coach. I can't believe ANYONE would question the hire. No other coach I would rather have except maybe Saban, and his age makes it a question mark. Brian Kelly are you fucking kidding me. I have heard Norm, Sark, Lane be called play calling geniuses. Nope. Behold an offensive genius. His name is Lincoln Riley. He will take us back to the mountain top. Never seen a coach rotate players like Riley
Hard to find much to disagree with. But he screwed the season with grinch.