Lincoln Riley shares how Year 1 success helped USC's recruiting

Lincoln Riley had a lot of success on the recruiting trail prior to Year 1. But after getting USC into College Football Playoff contention in just 13 games, the Trojans head coach revealed how his debut season in Southern California affected the recruiting process this time around.

“It’s had an impact,” Riley said. “There were people that either didn’t know a ton about us as a staff or maybe even not a ton about USC at that point that maybe it wasn’t realistic for them to jump on that early. There was still certainly a wait and see with the number of prospects out there. But you feel the difference, right? I mean, everybody sees the direction of where this is headed. They see the proof. They see the run that this team went on. 

“And again in reality, I mean, I’ll be disappointed if this isn’t the worst team that we have in our entire tenure here. And I say that with, I’ve loved coaching this team, like loved it, but we want to continue to do this and I think everybody in our locker room right now in this current team, whether they’re coming back or whether they’ve gotten ready to play their last game as a USC Trojan, everybody wants that.”

Riley elaborated the point when he said this team laid the groundwork for future classes and deep runs into the season for conference and national titles.

“I mean, I think this team really has taken it personal to be, they’ve kind of made it their mission to be the start of something new, right,” Riley said. “There’s only one team that’ll ever get to start a great run. And I think this team up to this point, like they’ve done their part and we need to go finish it and play really well in the Cotton Bowl.

“But this team has given this program a chance to really start something special here.”

Following National Signing Day, USC has the No. 13 overall recruiting class in the 2023 cycle, per the On3 recruiting rankings. It’s highlighted with the signing of No. 2 overall prospect, quarterback Malachi Nelson.

“It’s sent a message I think to recruits all over the country,” Riley said. “And the reality is, this is just the tip of the iceberg here. I mean, this is still the bottom level for what this program can be. And I think that’s the genuine excitement that you feel in our halls and with our current team and with our future guys out there, that this could be the start of something really, really special and you better jump on or watch us go by.”