USC Trojans Coach Lincoln Reveals Injury Update on Tight End Lake McRee Against Maryland

USC Trojans tight end Lake McRee has been sidelined since Week 4 after he took a low hit from Michigan cornerback Jyaire Hill early in the third quarter. When McRee walked off the field and into the medical tent, it wasn’t sure whether or not the redshirt junior would suit up for the Trojans again this season.

McRee returned to practice last week against Penn State and was seen running routes in the air, but was ultimately held out of the game. This week he returned to the field again with full pads. USC coach Lincoln Riley provided an update on McRee before Saturday’s game at Maryland.

“We missed him,” Riley said. “I mean, there’s no way to replace all the experience and playmaking ability. He does so much for this offense, and I give credit to Kade Eldridge and Walker Lyons, they’ve come in some big-boy ball games and played a lot of Snaps, you know, for two pretty inexperienced guys, they’ve handled it well.”

McRee was having his best season yet when he went down against Michigan, leading the team in receptions and receiving yards. He caught a career-high five passes in the Trojans’ season opener against LSU and posted a career-high in receiving yards (81) against Utah State. The tight ends’ production has been limited with McRee out of the lineup, with Eldridge and Lyons combining for three receptions for 15 yards.

“It’s close, I don’t know 100% it’s going to be this week or next week depending on if he continues to progress and doesn’t have any setbacks, which is honestly a little bit ahead of where we expected him to be after he was hurt in Michigan. You’d be grateful to have him back any time this year, but I’m sure we’ll have him next week.”

However, in his absence, sophomore wide receivers Ja’Kobi Lane, Makai Lemon and Duce Robinson have emerged in the Trojans’ offense. Lane had a career day of his own in Week 5 against Wisconsin when he had 10 receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Lemon had the best game of his career against Penn State when he caught six passes for 73 yards. Robinson has caught a touchdown in three of the last four games.

USC will travel to College Park on Saturday, October 16th to take on the Maryland Terrapins. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM PT and will air on FS1.