The USC Trojans, despite suffering a couple of disappointing early-season losses to Illinois and Notre Dame, are quietly trending in a highly positive direction. The e strategic decisions made by Head Coach Lincoln Riley and his offensive staff suggest that USC is positioned as a dangerous team for the stretch run. The most significant and lauded move by the coaching staff, though flying under the media radar, involves the handling and promotion of walk-on running back King Miller.
The fundamental principle that great coaching staffs adhere to is taking advantage of talent, whether it arrives by design or by unforeseen luck. While this sounds simple, many coaches allow ego, commitment to scholarship players, or organizational politics to prevent them from truly playing the hot hand. Starting a walk-on, particularly over highly touted, heavily-recruited scholarship athletes, is tantamount to admitting a recruiting error to the athletic department. However, Lincoln Riley has demonstrated the intelligence and humility necessary to set aside such considerations and fully embrace the emergence of Miller.
King Miller’s journey to becoming a star for the Trojans is a compelling story of perseverance and maximizing opportunity.Hailing from the talent-rich Calabasas area of Los Angeles, Miller was not highly recruited, with some colleges questioning his top-end speed. Per Fox Sports, he received scholarship offers from smaller programs like Nevada and San Jose State, but ultimately accepted a preferred walk-on spot with the Trojans alongside his brother, a prospective right guard. A preferred walk-on position carries minimal expectations. they are typically expected to serve as depth or contributors on the scout team, certainly not as key offensive weapons.
The USC running back room was loaded when Miller arrived. He sat behind proven quality players like Woody Marks and Quinton Joiner his freshman year. The coaching staff then doubled down on scholarship talent, signing junior college star Way Jordan and an experienced transfer, Eli Sanders, further pushing Miller down the depth chart, per Fox Sports. Despite this, Miller made the most of his extremely limited opportunities. This was highlighted by an explosive 75-yard touchdown run in the season opener against Missouri State and a 41-yard score against Georgia Southern.
The dramatic shift in Miller’s fortune, and in the Trojans’ offense, arrived against Michigan. In a stroke of unfortunate luck for the team, both the top two tailbacks, Jordan and Sanders, sustained injuries, Jordan to his ankle and Sanders to his knee, sidelining both for the foreseeable future. Suddenly Miller was one of only two healthy tailbacks available for the second half against the Big Ten powerhouse. Miller seized the moment, dominated the remainder of the game, and fundamentally reset the trajectory of the USC season. Riley deserves immense credit for sticking with Miller in the games that followed, continuously feeding the hot hand instead of reverting to a more conservative, pass-heavy scheme or prioritizing other scholarship players.
Miller’s production since taking over the starting role has been sensational. Despite starting the season as a preferred walk-on and being 25th in the conference in rushing attempts, Miller has already cracked the Big Ten’s top ten in rushing with 636 yards, boasting a whopping average of 7.9 yards per carry. His success, mirrored by the emergence of his brother on the offensive line, has been so profound that Riley has confirmed that scholarships for both Miller brothers are an inevitable matter of “when, not if” (again, per Fox Sports)
The decision to fully integrate Miller is now reflected in the team’s advanced metrics, confirming that USC is indeed playing like a top-tier program. When analyzing the Offense Adjusted Expected Points Added (EPA) per play against the Defensive Adjusted EPA per play, USC is positioned firmly in the upper right quadrant of the scatter plot. This data shows that both USC’s offense and defense are playing at a level indicative of a playoff contender.
Further supporting this positive trajectory is the ESPN Football Power Index (FPI). The USC Trojans currently possess the 10th highest FPI in all of college football, a ranking that places them ahead of other currently ranked teams and not far behind other top-four programs. This underscores the tangible impact of the coaching staff’s decisions.
By being willing to put his ego aside and ride the unexpected success of a walk-on, Riley has fortified his offense and, coupled with the improved defensive play, transformed the Trojans into a legitimate dark horse candidate. The team is now positioned with all of its season goals still achievable, making them a very dangerous team as they head into the crucial final games of the season.
Disclaimer: The content of this article was originally published as a YouTube video on the SMI College Football Show YouTube channel. With AI assistance, the publisher of the video created this article based on the content of that video.
