“Riley had a brain that wouldn’t stop. He sees things once and remembers it. I thought he might end up working at NASA.” This was David Wood, Lincoln Riley’s high school coach, as he remembers the latter’s recruitment at Texas Tech. The Trojans head coach walked into the quarterback room in 2003. It had Kliff Kingsbury, who had 5,000 yards in his senior season, and the head coach? Well, Mike Leach at the time was bringing a revolutionary high-scoring spread offense, and Riley was far behind in the QB chain. But, Riley not only persevered and learned Mike Leach’s offensive intricacies but also found a mentor who changed his career trajectory.
The QB whisperer who produced three Heisman winners couldn’t quite find success as a player at Texas Tech, but his ‘NASA’ brain was still observing everything going around. Moreover, surrounded by geniuses like Mike Leach, who produced QBs like B.J. Symons (5,833 yards in 2003) and Sonny Cumbie (4,000+ yards in a season), Lincoln Riley was bound to thrive. The only problem with Riley?
Well, “he was awful” as Dana Holgorsen, then Tech’s receivers coach, recounted about Riley to ESPN. However, Leach persisted with Riley and continued giving him reps, as he liked that Riley “asked questions” all the time. The college reps and later the coaching opportunity Riley had were due to Leach’s fondness for his curiosity. But there was another man, his mentor, Dave Nichol, who might have influenced Leach’s decision. Riley, in a recent interview, recounts how Nichol gave him his ‘break’ both as a coach and a player.
“I mean, I wouldn’t be here without him. I mean, there’s no question. He was really the one at Tech who gave me my start, both as a player and as a coach. Took me in, you know, to really teach me the offense. He taught me what it was like to at that time just to be a GA and start to learn to become a coach. And he was patient with me.” Dave might have left the world after losing the battle to cancer, but his teaching still lives on with Lincoln Riley’s brilliant offense.
#FightOnForever, Dave Nichol.
@USC_FB’s inside wide receivers coach and associate head coach for offense passed away today in McKinney, Tex.
He was 45. https://t.co/pHHKJe0GoB
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) March 25, 2022
Riley hired Nichol at USC as the inside receivers’ coach in 2021. But their relationship actually helped Riley to become the ‘quarterback whisperer’ he is today. Nichol gave Riley the opportunity first as a walk-on, on the team, and later as a graduate assistant, as Lincoln Riley learned his craft from his mentor. The wide receivers coach went on to teach his craft at Arizona from 2007 to 2011 and then moved to East Carolina for 4 years till 2015.
During his time at ECU, he led the program to third nationally in passing offense and fifth in total offense in 2014 and then moved on to Washington State from 2016, where he stayed till 2019. Then, after a 2-year stint at Missisipi State, Lincoln Riley came calling for the coach, and he joined USC under his old pupil, who came after turning the Oklahoma program inside out. However, at USC, Nichols sadly stayed for less than a year as he passed away on March 25, 2022, at 45 years old.
Change of mindset bearing results for Riley?
The head coach’s last season didn’t end to the tune he would have wanted as the Trojans fell short and ended with a 7-6 overall record. The faults were many,, but one of the biggest mistakes that people pointed out for Riley was his recruiting. The head coach relied more on the transfer portal, and the recruitment took a backseat. This didn’t end well for the team, and now the head coach says that changes are in order.
“We decided to go all in after the success for the first year and try to really blow it out in year two, and that was a mistake,” Riley admitted, and proclaimed that his staff might not be relying on portal too much moving on. “getting more away from the portal, getting more into the high school developmental process.”.
Well, if you compare Riley’s previous classes and the 2026 class, the differences will be starkly apparent. The head coach currently sits at first rank with his 2026 class, with mouthwatering prospects like Xavier Griffin, RJ Sermons, and the 4th-ranked CB Elbert Hill. On the other hand, Riley’s 2024 class had 16 transfer recruits and was ranked 18th nationally, and the 2023 class had 14 transfers. Sure, the changes are coming, but will they bear fruit?
The post 3 Years After Losing Mentor to Cancer, Lincoln Riley Makes Emotional Confession on Former USC Coach: ‘Wouldn’t Be Here Without Him’ appeared first on EssentiallySports.
