Lincoln Riley and USC are on their first bye week of the season. After playing in Week 0, the Trojans are already 3-0 and catching their breath before resuming Pac-12 play in Week 4.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Riley addressed the media and was asked about his impressions of Domani Jackson to begin the year. The head coach likes what he has seen in 3 games and noted Jackson keeps “improving rapidly” but there are still moments when it is evident he has not been playing that much.

“He’s doing well. I mean listen, Domani — you can see the talent and you can see him improving rapidly and then he also has some moments there when you can tell it’s been a while since he’s been out there playing that much,” said Riley.

Jackson arrived during the 2022 recruiting class as a 5-star recruit and the top player from California per the 247 Sports Composite. He missed some of his freshman spring with an injury that also cut his senior year short but has been on an upward trend since then.

After appearing in 7 games as a true freshman, Jackson has appeared in all 3 games to begin 2023. He has 11 total tackles and 2 pass breakups to start the year, and Riley is expecting “a rapid climb” as Jackson tackles a steep learning curve.

“He’s on a steep learning curve right now. And he’s learning quickly, he’s getting better. He’s done a good job taking the coaching, and he’s going through what all young guys that get a chance to play a lot early in their careers go through at some point,” Riley explained. “Caleb (Williams) went through this our first year at Oklahoma, it’s just different. You’ve gotta get adjusted and adapted, and I think he’s been better as the weeks have gone on and we’re correcting things… I just think it’s gonna be a rapid climb for him, honestly.”