USC head football coach Lincoln Riley met with reporters Thursday for one final media availability before the 10th-ranked Trojans (1-0) take on the Stanford Cardinal (1-0) at Stanford Stadium on Saturday.

Riley touched on the team’s rotations in the opener, the health status of a few players who are, as he put it, “dinged up,” and a bunch more.

Below is everything he said, along with video of the availability at the bottom.

On what they liked when they first took a look at Austin Jones

“I think the body of work. You turn on the tape and we thought he was a very versatile player. We thought he did a good job … in the throwing game last year. We thought he did a good job in pass protection. We thought in the opportunities he had to run the ball he had good vision, explosion, ran hard. Again, I think just the combination of all that and then bringing some experience and game reps to the backfield, that was important. It made it a no-brainer for us.”

On Raleek Brown’s status and the importance of being able to play ball-control offense against Stanford

“I would say any of our guys that got dinged up, which wasn’t many, but I would say all of those guys certainly still have a great shot to play in the game. I wouldn’t be close to ruling anybody out at this point. Been very positive there.

“And in terms of the run game, yeah, it’s absolutely important. This is a game that it could potentially become a low-possession game. Stanford certainly has tried to do that at times in the past and done a really good job of it. Obviously puts a premium on how well we play defensively, it puts a premium on how well we can control the line of scrimmage offensively. To make the most of those possessions, you’re certainly going to have to be able to run the football. I think the potential for a low-possession game — doesn’t mean it’s going to happen — but the potential for a low-possession game maximizes the opportunities really for everybody on both sides of the ball. In essence, you boil it down, you’ve got to make them count.”

On Stanford’s Patrick Fields — a former Oklahoma player for Riley

“Pat’s awesome. He’s been one of my favorite guys I’ve ever had the pleasure to coach. He did a lot for us on the field but probably even more for what he did off the field. Was a captain, was extremely involved in the community, was extremely involved in some of the movements that were happening throughout those years. Just an awesome kid. A tremendous student. When he called and told me his plan, it was kind of no surprise just because you know the quality of person he is. He’s a guy that’s always looking forward and planning for the future and makes every move very strategically. He’s a guy who got the most out of his education. He’s one of those guys you wish you had 20 of him in the locker room but they just don’t make a lot like him. Love coaching him.

“We texted back and forth a little bit this week. He texted me on my birthday and it was good to hear from him. I’ll be excited to see him. It’ll be really, really weird being on a different sideline from him. I mean, we had so many games, experiences, and so many awesome moments together. You won’t find a bigger fan of his than me.

“It’s kinda strange having a guy we had last year on their team and then vice versa. That’s kinda the new world. I think the game will be settled on how both teams play on Saturday. I don’t know that that (Jones’ knowledge of Stanford, Fields’ of Riley) one way or another is going to have a huge impact. You do what you do and you go out and go play.”

On Korey Foreman’s performance in Week 1

“We thought it was a very positive performance. He ended up getting a few more reps than maybe we’d anticipated when Romello was ejected. I thought he started… slow is not the right word, but he was kinda feeling it out early in the game and then as the game went on, he got more aggressive, more comfortable. He had some really nice individual plays. We thought he played pretty physical. Considering some of the time he’s missed, I thought it was a very positive start and I think something that Korey and all of us can certainly build on.

“The longer he stays on the field, the more flashes you see and the more consistent they become. He’s had about three weeks now with us where he hasn’t missed anything and he’s consistently getting better and better. I think that showed up Saturday and I would expect him to take another step and play better this week.”

On the way Stanford’s Tanner McKee can stress a secondary

“He’s a really good quarterback. They’ve got some nice targets. He can make a lot of throws and they do a good job schematically of giving you different looks. It’s a combination where certainly at times you’re gonna end up matched up out there and it’s gonna be one-on-one and you’ve got to be really disciplined. With all their run game and some of the play-action mixed, you’ve got to be extremely disciplined with your eyes. You’ve got to do a good job of trusting your technique, staying in great position, and understanding that this guy can make any throw.”

On Annie Hanson, USC’s director of football recruiting

“Annie’s certainly a very key member. Got to know her a little bit when I first got to Oklahoma as the OC, she was working in the administrative development side of things, then she went to North Carolina with Larry Fedora and I had a position open, or really kind of created a new position when I became the head coach, and wanted somebody with the skillset like she had and she was really kind of the first person I targeted for the job. Fortunate enough we were able to get her. She’s become a huge part of our operation.

“She really controls a lot of the recruiting and the recruiting operations — which obviously is a huge job. She did a tremendous job for us at Oklahoma and I just thought having someone with her experience not only with just recruiting in general but how we want to run things and somebody that was creative to adapt to all of the advantages that you have here in Los Angeles was really key.

“You kinda give her a blank canvas with all the opportunities here, and some of the things we can do from a recruiting standpoint here are extremely unique and specific to USC and to this area. She’s been a great fit. Obviously it’s awesome having Zach (her husband) with us on our offensive staff. They’re a really good team, tremendous people, and just the kind of people you want to represent your program. I think she’s one of the absolute tops in her field and we’re very fortunate to have her.”

On Stanford’s unique fade balls

“They’re obviously known historically for some of the bigger bodies out there. I’m sure there’s more to it than this but it has a little more, at times, a jump ball aspect to it just because of the size advantage they have a lot of Saturdays. They do a really good job of it. It’s something that’s a strong part of their offense. It’s a difficult thing to defend, and they’ve taken advantage of their skillsets over the years. When they do get those one-on-one shots, our guys being able to stay in great position and defend those is obviously a very important part of this game.”

On the extra prep work needed this first year to prepare for teams they haven’t seen before

“There’s more to it. My bed’s still out here (in his office) right now, if that tells you a little bit. Everything’s new in the first year. The opponents are new, it’s new traveling, it’s new schedules, it’s new everything. We’ve tried to do as much work on the front end to expedite some of this and to make it feel less new, but the reality is every part of these weeks, especially in the first part of the season, is new. Most of these opponents are people we haven’t played against.

“It’s fun. I mean, I’m really, really enjoying it. I think our staff’s really enjoying the challenge of every part of it being new and the chance to adapt and find ways to give our team an advantage.”

On the tight ends

“I thought our tight ends played pretty well. I was pleased with how they played. We didn’t get many targets that way. It was kind of the way the game unfolded. It was such a low-possession and low-play game that, again, a lot of our starters were 25, 30 reps. That’s like a half most weeks. Just the way it went, it got in the backs and receivers’ hands a little bit more throughout the game, but we feel good about the targets we have in there. They’ll certainly continue to be a part of what we do.

“I told you guys coming into the season that was one of the positions I was most excited to kind of see what are we, what’s our quality like, what’s our depth like, what are our skillsets. I was very encouraged by some of the things we did last Saturday and if we continue to do that, I’d imagine they continue to become a bigger and bigger part of what we do.”

On the way the rotations worked on both sides of the ball

“I thought the rotations, considering the strange nature of the game, were very positive. We played our starters like starters, which is what we’re going to do. We told the guys from the beginning starters are going to play like starters and backups are going to play like backups. We’re not going to have very many positions other than some occasional specifics and some occasional situations that come up, we’re not going to have many positions where we just sit there and play guys 50-50.

“Our message to the guys has been if you want to be a starter, don’t make it 50-50. If it’s 50-50, we’ve got to make a call. When it’s 50-50, sometimes it lands on heads, sometimes it lands on tails. If you go and clearly separate yourself, we’re not going to screw that up. If you want to be a starter, go win it outright and make it convincing. Our rotations will continue to reflect that.”