What You Need to Know About USC Recruiting California, School Visits & the Current Outlook

While it's true USC hasn't ideally signed as many top prospects from California in recent years, southern California in particular, it's not the end result of not Lincoln Riley and staff ardently pursuing them. The truth is, they have pursued most of the top California talent. Another truth, almost all of the top targets from California USC didn't sign since Riley's arrival, simply believed USC wasn't the best option for them. Not hard to understand considering how the program was viewed, especially in Southern California. Riley did overhaul nearly his entire defensive staff this past offseason and the uptick with recruiting has been significant. USC has commitments from, or is trending for, 13 of the top 25 players from California. Ten of them are defensive prospects.