O/NSO: Does location still matter? edition

The Obvious: In this era of expanding conferences, geographical reconfigurations, national 7-on-7 tournaments, and/or the pressure to stay home and play college football before your family, it was recently announced that a young blue-chip linebacker named Tackett Curtis elected to leave the bayou hospitality of Many, Louisiana, and take his talents to glitzy southern California to be part of the USC Trojans recruiting class of 2023. The Not So Obvious: For USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley and his staff, which is hellbent on returning USC football to its storied past, the Curtis commit is a big deal. Yet, why would a 4-star prospect and considered one of the top 100 prep seniors-to-be decide that LSU in Baton Rouge was not the place for him nor was Columbus, Ohio of Thee Ohio State, nor was Madison, Wisconsin, the party town residence of the Wisconsin Badgers? Why USC?