How USC football recruiting has shifted in one year
Entering Wednesday’s early signing day, Lincoln Riley has only six transfers committed to the Trojans…
Adam Grosbard (OC Register) — As he walked off the Coliseum field following USC’s win over Notre Dame, head football coach Lincoln Riley had a line of people waiting for him. Not fans, not donors, not administrators waiting to congratulate him.
Scores of high school recruits and their parents and coaches awaited, taking in the scene and wondering if USC was the right school for them. Riley greeted, hugged and dapped up all that came within his view before he had to go address his team in the locker room.
A year ago, Riley was in a different position. As the new coach at USC, Riley and his staff did not have relationships with many of the top high school recruits they would like to join them in Los Angeles. Riley settled for nine high school commits, many of whom he recruited at Oklahoma, while relying primarily on the transfer portal to enhance USC’s roster.
Entering Wednesday’s early signing day, Riley has a different type of class assembled. Twenty high school seniors are committed to USC, a group that is ranked 13th nationally and first in the Pac-12 by 247Sports.com.
Some of these recruits still carry ties to Riley’s Oklahoma tenure; five-star Los Alamitos quarterback and receiver duo Malachi Nelson and Makai Lemon both flipped from the Sooners to USC after Riley’s move west. But many, like four-star offensive tackle Elijah Paige of Arizona and four-star cornerback Maliki Crawford of Oxnard are signs of new in-roads the USC staff is making on this side of the country.
But the composition of the 2023 class is of note, too.
In last year’s recruiting cycle, USC added 20 transfers compared to nine high schoolers. This cycle has been the opposite, with only six transfers currently committed to the Trojans.
There is still room for that number to grow, but with 20 scholarships allotted to incoming freshmen, it reinforces the commitment that Riley made during the February late signing period.
“I think in the future, I don’t think the goal is to rely as heavily on the transfer portal as we have right now,” Riley said 10 months ago. “We as a staff felt like this was gonna be the best way to address the things that needed to be addressed. Certainly, we would like to have much more balance with the number of players that we sign out of high school compared to the transfer portal.”
But regardless of where the new Trojans come from and their age, USC wants them to help contribute to one ultimate goal.
“I shoot it to them straight,” Williams said of his message to transfers. “I say, if you’re not coming here to focus on our team goals, don’t come. If you want to come work with a great group of guys, come on and let’s work. If you’re not here to reach our team goal in January, then don’t come join.”
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