USC football enters a pivotal and defining season in the Lincoln Riley era. The 2026 campaign can be reduced to a simple question: “If not now, when?” When will Riley get over the hump, if he ever does? This might be his last chance. The man who likely holds the biggest key to Riley’s fate is Gary Patterson, but a very close second – arguably just as important as Patterson if you want to argue the case – is strength coach Trumain Carroll.
We can all appreciate the importance of Trumain Carroll on a general level. Bennie Wylie wasn’t good enough as strength coach. USC needed an upgrade at that position on staff. Carroll was Lincoln Riley’s answer. Carroll was hired late in the 2025 offseason cycle, so last season could never have been used as a real gauge of how good he really is. The 2026 season will give us a much better answer – maybe not a complete one, but surely a fuller one.
The more specific and urgent way to express how significant this season is for Trumain Carroll is as follows: He gets a chance to implement a strength program so good, so airtight, so successful that it can overturn Lincoln Riley’s deserved reputation for coaching and cultivating soft teams which get beaten up by elite opponents. Riley’s early success at Oklahoma came from the work of a previous strength coach who served under Bob Stoops, the head coach who hired Riley as offensive coordinator before stepping down and handing Riley the keys to the Sooner program. Riley eventually hired Bennie Wylie to replace that other strength coach. Oklahoma steadily got weaker as Riley’s OU tenure continued. Wylie them came to USC and didn’t deliver the goods.
Trumain Carroll has a chance to wipe away the Bennie Wylie years and give Riley – and USC – a tough identity it hasn’t had for quite some time. That’s where Trumain Carroll can make a lasting difference for the Trojans.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC season preview: Trumain Carroll can change Lincoln Riley
Reporting by Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire | USA TODAY Network
