"It is the right thing to do": USC HC Lincoln Riley makes huge pitch for Hall of Fame induction of legendary coach Pete Carroll

Lincoln Riley had his session at the Big Ten media days on Thursday. It was the coach's second appearance at the event following USC's inaugural season in the conference.

Riley opened his session in Las Vegas by thanking the media for the effort in getting Mike Leach eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame. The National Football Foundation lowered the winning requirement for a coach from 60% to 59.5% to make Leach eligible.

Riley followed that up by advocating for the induction of Pete Carroll into the Hall of Fame. The Las Vegas Raiders coach was at the helm of affairs at USC from 2001 to 2009, winning two national championships. However, he's short of the time frame requirement for induction.

“I know he's one year short on the requirement, but hard to imagine a guy that's had an impact like coach Carroll had on college football,” Riley said via USCTrojans.com. “And it's a little difficult for me, and I think a lot of my colleagues, to imagine a Hall of Fame that exists without him and his impact.

“I don't come to you as the head coach at USC just solely for that reason, but just as a fan of college football and somebody that watched coach Carroll's teams and watched the way that he interacted with his players, the way that he impacted our sport," he added. "Just something I believe is the right thing to do, and would be great for our game and great for our Hall of Fame.”

A coach typically needs to have served as a head coach in college football for at least 10 years to be eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame. He must also have coached a minimum of 100 games and have a winning percentage of .595.

Lincoln Riley expresses confidence in Jayden Maiava ahead of 2025

Jayden Maiava is set to start under center for the Trojans in the upcoming season. The signal-caller replaced Miller Moss as the starter with four games to go in the 2024 season. At the Big Ten media days, Lincoln Riley expressed his confidence in the quarterback heading into 2025.

“Really proud of Jayden,” Riley said. “He started four games for us last year, all four against good football teams, all four against really good defenses. He gave us a chance to win all four. We were able to pick off three of them.

“Made some huge plays, made some unbelievable plays in those games. Showed a lot of resiliency, a lot of toughness, his arm talent, the decisiveness in which he plays and how he sees things is really unique and has a chance to be really special," he added.

Replacing Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at USC hasn't been an easy task for Lincoln Riley. However, having shown some glimpses last season, the hope is that Maiava lives up to the responsibility next season and gets the Trojans back to winning ways.