Lincoln Riley thinks USC can be immediately competitive. At times so far since taking the Trojan head coaching job, he has reiterated that his staff didn’t come to Los Angeles to lower a standard or wait on any kind of timetable.

But to turn a 4-8 team into one that can challenge the likes of Utah and Oregon atop the Pac-12, USC is going to have to put in a good deal of work this offseason. The team knows that. Riley has talked about how much needs to be done in spring ball and then into the summer months. He talks with a sense of urgency.

Key along the way? Accountability.

According to the O.C. Register’s Adam Grosbard, USC offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees sees a different approach when it comes to what the coaching staff is demanding of its team.

“Whether guys are missing class or late to tutors or whatever it may be, it’s addressed and nothing goes unseen,” he said Tuesday after practice. “That’s something that hasn’t necessarily been the case in the past here.”

You love to see it.

Or, I guess in this instance, hear it.

Riley has been pleased so far with the eagerness he’s seen from the Trojans at the outset of spring practice. During an appearance on the Trojans Live radio show last week, Riley touched on what Vorhees is getting at above.

“Championship teams become championship teams because they do things a different way,” he said. “They do things at an elite level and then they do everything at that level because they realize everything is important. When you do that, you give yourself the best opportunities for success.

“Within the walls, as we see more and more of that, we’ll know that we’re headed in the right direction.”

He’s not just talking about football there. Players have said already they feel a confidence in what Riley’s preaching because they’ve seen it work all those years at Oklahoma.

The new head coach has his team’s full attention right away, it would seem. It’s a good time to be a Trojan, though not an easy time. That should do the program well.