USC Trojans' No. 1 recruiting class powered by California talent

USC is enjoying a resurgence on the recruiting trail right now. The Trojans currently have the No. 1 recruiting class in the Rivals Industry Rankings. There are multiple reasons for the uptick in high school recruiting, but one of the biggest is that coach Lincoln Riley overhauled the program’s recruiting department and hired Chad Bowden as general manager. 

USC has also attained better alignment with respect NIL. The Trojans should always be one of the top spenders in that area given the history of the program and ties to big donors. 

The third factor is that Riley is shifting his philosophy away from quick fixes in the transfer portal. By his own admission, he felt like the team needed to use the transfer portal in a big way to shock the system. The roster needed to get where it was competitive and try to create some belief and excitement and momentum early.

But then in year two USC went heavy into the portal again which was a mistake. Riley believes that was probably his biggest regret to this point at USC. But now he feels the formula is just right and he spoke about it at Big Ten Media Days. 

“I think we all knew deep down, long-term, that when you are at USC the core values and I think the core beliefs in terms of how you build a program is always going to start from your high school recruiting,” Riley said. “Specifically in Los Angeles and in Southern California and branching out all over the country. Then your ability to develop that and then supplement it at times with the portal.” 

Keeping local talent home

To Riley’s credit his program is backing up his words. 

More than half of USC’s recruiting class is from the state of California. We aren’t talking about guys to just fill spots either. Five-star tight end Mark Bowman is staying home to play for USC. So are four-stars Simote Katoanga, Brandon Lockhart, Deshonne Redeaux, Tomuhini Topui, Vlad Dyakonov, Trent Mosley, Luc Weaver and Shaun Scott. 

“That’s where we want to be long-term,” Riley said. “It’s where we’ve always wanted to be long-term, and I think that’s why you’re seeing us recruiting the way that we have in the last year and a half. It’s really gone to another level, and we’re really excited about it.” 

The scary thing for USC opponents is that things are just getting cranked up. USC still isn’t totally dominating California recruiting like it once did. Ohio State and Oregon specifically are still pulling elite prospects out of the state. 

To stop that from happening USC will need to take the next step on the field. There is a lot of excitement in the program about what can be accomplished. But surely this formula of building the Trojans back to prominence is the way to go.