JD PicKell: Evaluating how Kliff Kingsbury addition impacts USC moving forward

Kliff Kingsbury joined the USC football staff as an analyst under Lincoln Riley and On3’s J.D. PicKell revealed how it impacted the Trojans in a positive way.

PicKell made the argument that Kingsbury could help USC land five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola. The former Ohio State commitment has USC as one of his finalists.

PicKell broke down the move as it pertains to Kingsbury aiding the recruiting efforts, on The Hard Count.

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“Here’s why this could really be a factor,” PicKell said. “Who is USC currently recruiting pretty heavily right now? Number one quarterback in the 2024 cycle, five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola. USC is in the mix, Georgia in the mix, Nebraska’s in the mix. You had a guy like Kliff Kingsbury to the equation, it can’t hurt. It can’t hurt because Kliff Kingsbury has worked with Pat Mahomes, when he was at Texas Tech and Pat Mahomes is now the best player in football, period. 

“Johnny Manziel, not in the league but still put up numbers when he was in college and got himself a Heisman trophy. Case Keenum also put up numbers in college who’s still in the league. Kliff Kingsbury has a track record of working with successful quarterbacks and oh, by the way, he’s also been an NFL head coach.”

As a member of the Class of 2024, Raiola is a five-star recruit out of Phoenix (Ari.) Pinnacle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the class and the No. 6 overall prospect in the class.

If USC lands Raiola with the help of Kingsbury, that’s a big win.

“I say this all the time, if you want to get to the professional level of whatever it is, football, hotel, administration, business, whatever it is, you go to the best program that’s gonna get you teed up to do what you want to do professionally,” PicKell said. “For USC having Kliff Kingsbury now saying, ‘Yeah, I’ve been to the NFL. Yeah, work with these guys. Yeah, I can get you to be successful.’ That might be a positive pitch for Dylan Raiola. I can’t imagine that hurts anything for Dylan Raiola. 

“Kliff Kingsbury was at USC at one point in time as the OC, finds himself right back in Los Angeles working with Lincoln Riley, I think it’s a good thing. Is it monumental? No. Is it a good thing, especially on the recruiting trail with Dylan Raiola? I think so. It’s a nice pitch to make. Kliff Kingsbury headed to USC, going to be the Senior Analyst for the offense. Working with the QBs, will undoubtedly parlay that into another job at some point in time in the future, but the Trojans have another offensive mind in that meeting room.”