Matt Leinart calls out 'unfortunate' trend in USC recruiting with Lincoln Riley

USC head coach Lincoln Riley has received plenty of criticism for the way the Trojans are playing on the field after a 3-3 start. Now he is being called out by former USC star and current Fox Sports analyst Matt Leinart for his recruiting tactics and ability.

Luca Evans posted a story Thursday night in which he shared that “Several Mater Dei coaches told @ocregister that USC has visited just once since spring. Same at St. John Bosco.”

Evans went on to reveal that “Lincoln Riley said recruiting CA kids is “priority no. 1.” Data says USC is increasingly looking– and finding success — to the South.”

Matt Leinart quote tweeted the story from Evans Friday morning and shared his thoughts on Lincoln Riley and his recruiting.

“Pete Carrol built a fence around Southern California and coaches knew they never had a shot of getting anyone during that time. If true this would be unfortunate as there is still tons of elite talent not only at MD but all over So Cal!” Matt Leinart said.

The tweet from Leinart obviously received plenty of attention as he played at USC from 2001-05, winning the Heisman trophy and a pair of national titles.

Pete Carroll was the head coach at USC for each of Leinart’s seasons. In total, Carroll spent nine years at Southern Cal, leading the Trojans to seven Pac-12 titles and two national titles, before heading to the NFL.

It’s safe to say that Lincoln Riley and USC need to do a better job on the field and in recruiting moving forward to keep Matt Leinart and other former stars from getting upset with the direction of the program.

Urban Meyer joins Matt Leinart in commenting on USC struggles

In addition to Matt Leinart, fellow Fox Sports analyst Urban Meyer also shared his thoughts on USC recently.

Meyer truly can’t believe why USC struggles at this point under Lincoln Riley. Riley is now 5-8 in his last 13 games, including losing five of seven to end last season.

With that brand and recruiting base of California, Meyer was borderline stunned that this wasn’t an easy Top 10 or 5 team in the country at this stage. So what is the solution?

Well, if it were that easy, Riley and USC might be better than 3-3 through the halfway point of the season.

“This does not compute,” Meyer said on The Triple Option. “It has not computed with me for the last 10, 15, years. To me, that is a top five spot. You stumble over players when you recruit. I recruited out there forever when I was a Colorado State, Utah. I mean it, it’s like, to me, Texas and California are different … In Texas and Cal, they’re like college coaches …

“It does not compute to me, the history, tradition and recruiting base and financial support at USC, and coach Riley has gone 5-8 in the last 13 games. This is on the heels of the previous staff that really struggled. So you can keep blaming coaches. But is there some, I guess, is there something there? Is there a problem? Because that is a top five job.”