It turned out to be a winning strategy. But recruiting the best players in your own backyard, as Carroll saw it, wasn’t really rocket science.

“It seemed like common sense,” Carroll told The Times in 2006, after the Trojans had signed back-to-back recruiting classes ranked No. 1 overall.

Mater Dei WR Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, who flipped from a long term OHIO ST commitment to USC, makes a catch over the middle against Bishop Gorman at Santa Ana Stadium. (Craig Weston)

Riley waited until his fourth season to return to the strategy that worked so well for Carroll.

And it took less than one year after that for USC to return to the top of the recruiting world.

The coronation became official Wednesday, as USC inked the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation on early signing day, marking the first time in almost two decades that the Trojans stood atop the recruiting throne of college football.

Not only that, it’s the first time since 2008, according to 247 Sports, that a school outside of the Southeastern Conference finished with the nation’s top class. And for Riley, it’s the first time he’s signed a top five class, let alone the No. 1 overall.

He reached those heights this cycle, much like Carroll had, with local prospects leading the way. Of the Trojans’ 35 signees Wednesday, 20 came from the state of California. Seven of the state’s top 25 prospects, as ranked by 247 Sports, chose USC, while no other school signed more than four from that top tier. Eight players in the class come from the powerhouse Trinity League, after USC had signed just five in the previous four classes combined.

Among that group were four blue-chip prospects from Santa Ana Mater Dei High, the preps powerhouse that once produced Matt Leinart and had long served as a prime pipeline to USC. That relationship had fallen by the wayside until recently.

But on Wednesday morning, in the gym at Mater Dei, name placards were set up for top tight end Mark Bowman, four-star top-100 defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui and four-star linebacker Shaun Scott — as well as elite wideout Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, whose flip from Ohio State to USC on signing day morning became one of the bigger stories of the day.

The late flip of Dixon-Wyatt proved to be the pièce de résistance Wednesday from general manager Chad Bowden, whose arrival less than a year ago has transformed the Trojans’ recruiting operation.

Before, Riley had ruffled some feathers locally when he implied that many local players on USC’s roster were only there because they were from local schools. Mater Dei hadn’t sent a prospect to USC since 2022. Just one player, prior to Wednesday, had signed with Riley out of Bellflower St. John Bosco.

“Hiding behind the curtain of, ‘Well, at least we’re recruiting California kids’ doesn’t do the program any good,” Riley said in 2023.

But Bowden made it clear within weeks of being on the job that USC’s focus would start first and foremost in Southern California. He said in January that he viewed the local 2026 class as the best the Southland had seen in two decades — nevermind that Bowden was in the fifth grade at the start of that cycle.

“Back when national championships were won here, when Rose Bowls were won here, you know, you look back at Pete Carroll’s classes — ‘02, ‘03, ‘04 — over 80% of the recruiting classes were from the state of California,” Bowden said in January. “History repeats itself. It always does. And if you look into the fine details of how programs are built and how the place was built and when success had happened, that was a key part of USC being on top. My plans and my vision is to bring that back and take care of the state.”

Mater Dei’s Tomuhini Topui (52) celebrates in win over Bishop Gorman. (Craig Weston)

That plan began with repairing relationships in the local recruiting scene, many of whom had felt slighted by USC.

“We’re going to take care of those people, and they’re going to know that we’re here,” Bowden said. “That’s not done over one call. That’s not a text message every day. It’s done through consistent communication and action.”

In a three-month span, from March to June, USC secured commitments from 10 in-state prospects. Recruits and their parents, coaches and local football power brokers alike have all equally raved about Bowden’s efforts since.

“It’s amazing how much better their class looks when they start to prioritize the local kids and keep those guys home,” said Brandon Huffman, the national recruiting editor for 247 Sports. “Their whole philosophical change paid off in a major way.”

A renewed focus on the line of scrimmage was also a clear focus of USC’s class, as nearly half (15) of the Trojans’ 35 signees were either offensive or defensive linemen or edge rushers. Offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe (71), USC’s top-ranked signee at No. 5 overall, is the first five-star offensive lineman to sign with the school since Austin Jackson in 2017.

Four USC signees are the top recruits in their respective home states: edge rusher Luke Wafle (New Jersey), CB Elbert Hill (Ohio), four-star quarterback Jonas Williams (Illinois) and four-star linebacker Talanoa Ili (Hawaii).

USC certainly isn’t alone in that regard, as revenue sharing and name, image and likeness payments have become a prime part of the process. That’s not a dynamic that Carroll ever had to deal with as coach.

But on Wednesday, USC returned to the same hallowed recruiting ground that Carroll once owned, with the nation’s top class in tow and a newfound hope that 2026 might just be the start of something even bigger.

latimes.com

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