A USC Recruiting State Of Mind

USC’s No. 3 rated recruiting class has players committed from all over the country and the Trojans coaching staff is out trying to locate some more before they head home for the official visits season. With national brand recognition and the move to the B1G Conference, it’s even more important than ever that Lincoln Riley continues to find players who want to play for USC no matter the distance.

The Trojans 2025 recruiting class has 12 commitments so far and one state stands out more than the others.

Georgia (3)

Three of USC’s 12 commits are from the Peach State and it just so happens they’re also the class’s 3 highest-rated recruits. Coincidence that the Trojans coaching staff is attacking the state of Georgia so aggressively?

2025 DL Justus Terry–Manchester(GA)/Manchester (Committed 3/24)

Terry had been a Georgia Bulldog commit since January 2023.–And then Lincoln Riley hired Eric Henderson. “Coach Henny came in and changed that around. I’m on the list for the top D-Linemen that he wants, so he came and got me.”

2025 EDGE Isaiah Gibson–Warner Robins(GA)/Warner Robins (Committed 3/24)

Distance won’t be a factor for one of Georgia’s best football players, and Gibson also has the blessing from his mother who is on the West Coast at least 3-4 times per year due to her military career.

2025 QB Julian Lewis–Carrollton(GA)/Carrollton (Committed 8/23)

Ju Ju was the first to fall off the peach tree and become a Trojan. And despite the constant rumblings that he’ll eventually de-commit, so far there haven’t been any signs of that from Lewis’s camp. Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis highlights the June 7th official visitors list.

California (2)

2025 LB Matai Tagoa’i–San Clemente(CA)/San Clemente (Committed 4/1)

California is the building block that the USC has built its foundation throughout the years. In theory, Lincoln Riley doesn’t have to leave the state to fill his roster with top-tier talent and Tagoa’i is the highest-rated player committed to USC from the Golden State.

2025 CB Trestin Castro–Upland(CA)/Upland (Committed 4/2)

April 15th On3 released THE LATEST On300. USC has eight of its 12 verbal commits among the Top 300 ranked players nationally.–Castro made the list after seeing his stock rise. Castro from Upland (CA) made his debut at No. 282 overall. That’s a bump of nearly 400 spots if we use his On3 Industry Ranking as the gauge.

Texas (2)

2025 RB Riley Wormley–Colleyville(TX)/South Lake (Committed 3/31)

Lincoln Riley and his running back coaches love to recruit the state of Texas. Wormley is the latest and was one of Anthony Jones Jr first contacts when he took over the running back room when Kiel McDonald left for the LA Chargers position.

2025 DL Gus Cordova–Austin (TX)/Lake Travis (Committed 3/24)

Gus was a part of the crawfish boil with Terry and Gibson and is considered very underrated. USC has more offers in the Lonestar State so we anticipate the Texas commitment numbers to grow.

Florida (1)

2025 S Hylton Stubbs–Jacksonville(FL)/Mandarin (Committed 3/24)

USC has recruited the Sunshine State very very well over the years, and “Drake” Stubbs continues with that legacy. It’s doubtful that he’ll be the only Floridian in the class when the class is signed.

Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, and Washington (1 Ea.)

The DMV isn’t just a place to stand in line.—The District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia can also line up some of the best college football players to play for the Trojans. Caleb Williams and MarShawn Lloyd are two of the latest. Tennessee isn’t typically a friendly place for USC recruiting, while Washington has talent that’s recruited nationally as well.

2025 WR Romero Ison–Baltimore(MD)/Baltimore City College (Committed 4/9)

2025 RB Harry Dalton–Dinwiddie(VA)/Dinwiddie County (Committed 4/7)

2025 ATH Daune Morris–Murfreesboro(TN)/Oakland (Committed Committed 4/7)–Some inside USC Circles believe the Trojans stole one away from the SEC with Morris’s commitment.

2025 OL Willi Wascher–Bellevue(WA)/Bellevue (Committed 4/12)

Some people like to get away, and take a break from the neighborhood.–Hop a flight to Miami Beach or to Hollywood. My apologies to Billy Joel, and I doubt Lincoln Riley’s coaching staff is taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line to find their next commitment.–They are in a “recruiting state of mind.”