LOS ANGELES — More often than not, USC football head coach Lincoln Riley is mingling with the special teams coaches and players while the rest of the team stretches and warms up. “He understands every facet of special teams that we’re doing,” special teams coordinator Ryan Dougherty told reporters after practice Thursday. “He knows our punt scheme, he knows our punt block schemes, he knows all the kickoff schemes,” Dougherty said. “We have staff special teams meetings every day. He sits in every one of them. He’s very involved and hands-on with all the things that we do special teams-wise.” Riley’s involvement in special teams highlights the increased importance of that phase of the game, and so does the fact that Makai Lemon – arguably the team’s best receiver – will likely be the primary punt returner this season. “Punt return is one of the most important things on the field,” Riley told reporters Wednesday, “so there’s nothing that anybody would do that would keep us from playing him on punt return. That’s just one of those priority spots. We’ve worked him a lot. He’s very natural with it. So hard to imagine him not factoring in there.” Lemon, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior from Los Alamitos, is returning to special teams after tallying 19 kickoff returns for 514 yards (27.1 avg.) last season. It added to his team-leading 764 receiving yards and his performance in both areas has generated early NFL draft buzz. “I’m just blessed to be in every position that the coaches put me in,” Lemon said of special teams. “Every time I’m out in the field, I just try to capitalize, just try to better the team in a positive way.” Riley added that Zacharyus Williams is also a top punt returner this season. On the other side of special teams, Doughtery said there is still competition at kicker and punter. Position battles USC will hold a closed scrimmage Friday morning, giving the coaching staff more opportunities to narrow down a depth chart for the Aug. 30 season opener against Missouri State. Riley said some of the most competitive position battles at this point in fall camp are at receiver, offensive line and the defensive line interior. Eric Gentry and Desman Stephens II have emerged as two of the top linebackers, he added. Stephens II is in his second full season of playing linebacker after being at safety. “The versatility. They both are great tacklers. They can blitz,” defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn said. “You can make an argument that they cover tight ends better than our DBs and just some of the things that we can do with them in space from an athletic standpoint separates them.” Construction crew thank-you The Trojans invited a crew of 150 construction workers to watch the stretch and individual periods of Thursday’s fall camp practice. They fist-bumped Riley on his way onto Howard Jones field and one worker even had the opportunity to field punts from a member of the USC coaching staff. The group has been building the new Bloom Football Performance Center, a multi-million-dollar training facility that is scheduled to open in summer 2026. It’s part of the $200 million Athletics West capital projects, which also include a new baseball stadium at Dedeaux Field and a golf program practice area.