WeAreSC Recruiting Roundup: The Latest Recruiting Misses for USC and What's Next!

Each week me and our impressive intern from USC’s Anneneberg School of Communications hop on Zoom. At that time we recap some of the interesting USC storylines of the week for our YouTube audience. Our primary focus is on recruiting, but we’ll also touch on other topics each week.

In this WeAreSC Recruiting Roundup Scott Schrader and Dylan Brashier discuss some of the latest big-name recruiting misses for the Trojans and what’s next for USC’s 2024 class.

They also look to the 2023 college football season with the team that will be at the bottom of the conference and a team that could surprise.

WeAreSC Subscribers Questions

QUESTION: As much as I like our current class, it seems we struck out with some big priorities: Dylan Raiola/DJ Lagway, Taylor Tatum, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Peyton Woodyard, Dre’lon Miller, Tyanthony Smith, Mike Matthews, & Zabien Brown. Many of which USC felt pretty solid about at one point or another.

Is this at all alarming in any way? Are there any that surprised you most that USC missed on? (at least for now)?

ANSWER: Schools offer a lot of kids, then recruit many of them vigorously, only to miss on most. It’s part of the recruiting process. If I was a USC fan, I’d be extremely encouraged USC has been so close with guys they would’ve had zero shot at a year ago. It’s a process to rebuilding a program and Lincoln Riley and staff have done an amazing job in my opinion. 

Even Georgia missed on Mike Matthews, Eddrick Houston, Kameryn Fountain, Walter Matthews, may miss on KJ Bolden and others. Some only focus on who USC’s missing on. Yet USC remains a sliver away from still having a Top 5 recruiting class….despite not one commit ranked higher than No. 79.

Before anyone replies with, “Yeah, but Georgia has the No. 1 ranked recruiting class.” My reply is, USC ain’t Georgia, Alabama or Ohio State at this point. USC hadn’t been a program commanding national respect since Pete Carroll departed….until now. Now there are many predicting USC makes the playoffs in 2023. Whether they do or not remains to be seen, but USC should be in that conversation in 2023.

So, time to grab some perspective. Georgia wasn’t a dumpster fire when Kirby Smart took over. Georgia went 10-3 the year before he became head football coach in Athens. The Bulldogs were also 10-3 in 2014 and 12-2 in 2012. Kirby’s absolutely elevated Georgia to a new level, but they were already one of the top programs in the SEC.

Ryan Day inherited Urban Meyers’ players and nearly his entire staff, and many are still there. Riley had to completely revamp the USC football program almost from scratch. I understand expectations are high and I believe should be, but it’s time to look forward to the season versus dwelling on recruiting misses. Recruiting will take care of itself with another strong season.

Who’s Left on the Linebacker Board for USC in 2024?

Four-star Los Angeles based linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa is fresh off committing to Notre Dame over USC and Ohio State. The St. John Bosco standout was a top linebacker target for the Trojans in the 2024 cycle. With him now off the board, USC will now pivot to the rest of the board to fill their linebacker class. 

At this time, USC holds one commitment at the position from four-star Connecticut prospect Elijah Newby. 

So, who is left on the board for USC to pursue and are there some names currently committed elsewhere the Trojans will push for a flip?

Let’s break it down.

The top remaining target for USC

The top target that remains uncommitted on the board for USC is top-100 Salem (Va.) linebacker Chris Cole. He currently has a top-10 of USC, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Miami, Penn State, and Notre Dame.

Cole is the No. 53 overall prospect and No. 5 linebacker in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 1 player in Virginia.

Cole took four officials in the month of June: Penn State (June 2), Virginia Tech (June 9), Georgia(June 16) and Miami (June 23). WeAreSC’s Scott Schrader was able to speak with Cole previously and learned Cole’s still planning to return to USC for an official visit during the season. 

“USC is an OV I’ve been looking forward to,” said Cole. “I’m definitely going back to visit in the fall and spend some time with coaches and players!”

Two names the Trojans will continue to pursue

USC pursued St. John Bosco duo Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Jordan Lockhart. Both are now committed, Viliamu-Asa to Notre Dame and Lockhart pledging to Texas A&M last month. 

The Trojans will continue to recruit both of these prospects until the time they sign elsewhere. A strong season, especially one defensively, will go a long way in the pursuit of these prospects. 

Viliamu-Asa is ranked as the No. 8 linebacker prospect in the 2024 class while Lockhart is ranked as the No. 45 linebacker prospect.