Joel Klatt believes Lincoln Riley can change the landscape of the Pac-12

Lincoln Riley is now the head man at USC and while many assume he will jump right in and find instant success, that’s far from a sure thing.

There have been plenty of talking heads shooting down or hyping up Riley’s potential impact on the Pac-12 as a whole, but FOX analyst Joel Klatt joined Colin Cowherd to give an insightful take on how this shocking move could change the sport as a whole.

“This is so fascinating because it makes not only USC, but the West Coast, relevant in college football,” Klatt said of the Lincoln Riley move. “The Pac-12 people are on eggshells all the time about the overarching stature of their conference and they are so anxiety-ridding about getting credit. “

Lincoln Riley a proven track record–and with teams like Oregon, UCLA, Utah and others ascending–it makes sense.

Klatt believes the new USC front man has a real chance to play a major role in changing the entire Pac-12 landscape in a time where the conference needs it the most.

“Here’s the bottom line,” Klatt added. This conference has been somewhat irrelevant for the better part of a decade outside a couple of years where Mariota was great, or Petersen made a run at Washington, but other than that it hasn’t been great. This makes, not only USC, but the entire conference footprint relevant. And I think the dominoes that we see from this over the next couple of years are going to be substantial. ”

How Lincoln Riley can reverse a recent trend

While there are no promises or guarantees, Klatt points to the slew of west coast talent that has been recruited to teams like Ohio State, Alabama, Texas and other high-profile programs nowhere close to the Pacific Ocean.

“If you look around college football right now, folks, you have impactful players all across the country from the Pac-12 footprint, not just Southern California,” Klatt continued.

The FOX college football expert then lists names like Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) and Chris Olave (San Marcos, CA) along with other recent high-profile Buckeyes commits like JT Tuimoloau (Edgewood WA) from last year’s class. Klatt added names like Alabama starting signal caller Bryce Young who also hails from California, and Texas dominant running back Bijan Robinson, who hails from Arizona.

Clearly Klatt believes the addition of Lincoln Riley could quickly make a dent in a narrative that seemed impossible roughly a decade ago.

“If you were to talk to top line coaches around 2009, they would say they aren’t recruiting that area because Pete [Carroll] is not letting that kid go. Urban Meyer said he wouldn’t even attempt to come into Southern California,” the FOX college football guru added.

Only time will tell if Klatt is onto something massive.