Lincoln Riley is determined to add pass-rush talent at USC, but 2025 class is light on bodies

LOS ANGELES — The calendar flipped to October, and USC head coach Lincoln Riley became Floyd Boucard’s best friend.

In mid-September, Boucard de-committed from Oklahoma, a defensive lineman in the class of 2025 who was largely being targeted by schools in the South. Riley, though, wanted him at USC. Badly enough, as Boucard said, that they were “always on the phone.” More precisely: Riley, eventually, was calling Boucard three to four times a day.

Riley told Boucard, a 6-foot-3, 315-pound three-star lineman...