Riley (illness) misses USC’s practice for 2nd day

USC coach Lincoln Riley missed a second straight day of practice Tuesday due to an undisclosed illness, according to a school spokesperson.

In Riley’s absence, USC wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons is set to lead the team for as long as Riley is out. Simmons, who is listed as USC’s assistant head coach on its website, has coached alongside Riley since 2015 — when both began stints at Oklahoma — through 2021, when both left the Sooners to coach at USC.

The 40-year-old Riley, who is in his second season at USC, is resting at home under doctor’s orders. He also missed his weekly appearance on the in-house YouTube show, Trojans Live, Monday.

USC’s compliance office is reportedly working to make senior offensive analyst Kliff Kingsbury an on-field assistant during Riley’s absence. Kingsbury joined Riley’s staff as an analyst this offseason after he was fired from his previous position as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

USC, which was ranked sixth in the AP preseason poll and had College Football Playoff aspirations, is coming off back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and Utah in the past two weeks. The Trojans head to Cal this upcoming weekend before hosting undefeated Washington at home the following week.