The overnight hire of Riley away from Oklahoma that reverberated throughout the sport gave way to a celebratory shock Monday.
At Oklahoma the last five seasons, Riley has helmed a team that’s had three College Football Playoff appearances, four Big-12 titles and four 10-win seasons, while developing two Heisman-winning quarterbacks in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
USC had been linked to several candidates since they fired Clay Helton back in October.
“It was tough to leave the place I left,” Riley said when asked about Oklahoma.
It all culminated on Saturday night, as Sosna paced inside a suite at the USC-BYU game while the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game was on one of the screens.
According to him, USC reached out Sunday morning with real interest and they were able to jump on a Zoom call where they made their final pitch to Riley.
“Everything intrigued me,” Riley said.
While Bohn refused to get into contract details, he did say that the financial commitments “include a competitive spirit” that matches Riley’s.
Even though USC has one game left in its season — a postponed matchup against Cal Saturday that will be coached by interim Donte Williams — Riley said he’ll get to work in the shadows on recruiting right away with early signing day a few weeks away.
“We plan on building the best roster in the country, and inside that locker room, the best culture in the country,” Riley said.