Lake McRee injury: USC HC Lincoln Riley offers insight on Trojans TE following massive hit in Week 4

USC Trojans tight end Lake McRee suffered an injury after taking a massive hit against the Michigan Wolverines in Week 4. He left the game with an injury.

The hit was a brutal one, and McRee immediately stayed down with an injury.

Speaking to reporters, USC coach Lincoln Riley said there was some good news.

“Yeah, we got good news,” Riley told reporters, via SI. “He’s going to be back this year. He won’t be back for sure probably for the next couple of weeks. But some really positive news given the hit.”

It was a hit that many fans think should be illegal. Riley also knows the hit was dangerous, but unfortunately, it is legal in today's college football.

“It’s legal right now, but a hit like that does not need to be legal,” Riley said. "Like, you think all the things in college football and football in general that we’ve cleaned up, it’s very simple to clean up a defenseless player that you can’t see and you go low on him.”

McRee led the Trojans with 9 receptions for 137 yards before his injury. He has spent four years at USC and is the team's starting right end.

Lincoln Riley says Lake McRee lucky to not be severely injured

Although Lake McRee will miss some time with the injury, Lincoln Riley says the tight end is lucky as the injury is not serious.

“What happened to Lake, honestly, he’s incredibly lucky,” he said. "You see it in the NFL and you see it in our game, and that’s something that needs to get some attention to get cleaned up. That makes the game no better and that’s something that just should not happen in my opinion.”

With McRee injured, Kade Eldridge will likely become the starting tight end for the Trojans. Eldridge is a freshman who has recorded two receptions for 17 yards this season. Eldridge was a 3-star recruit in the class of 2023.

USC is set to host Wisconsin on Saturday as the Trojans look to rebound from their first loss of the season.