Lincoln Riley’s 2024 USC recruiting class emphasizes commitment, development

Nineteen of USC’s 21 commits signed on Wednesday’s early National Signing Day, a group rich in defensive depth and size up front but light on offensive talent

Luca Evans (OC Register)  —  LOS ANGELES — Elijah Newby was the first to lock in pen to paper on Wednesday, and his confirmation said a thousand words in the span of precious few.

The Connecticut linebacker had committed to USC in June, back when this program had a different defensive coordinator and an unblemished record and national championship hopes. And Newby remained committed through December, even as USC’s defense imploded and the Trojans started shuffling their defensive staff. He didn’t waver, head coach Lincoln Riley said on Wednesday. Not for a second.

“I promise to give @uscfb everything I have for the next 3-4 years!” Newby wrote in a social media post on Wednesday morning, the dawn of the early National Signing Day.

The next 3-4 years. That means something, around USC. It means something to a program that’s seen a slew of once-hyped recruits head for the transfer portal in the last few days. It means something to a program that, as Riley reflected Wednesday, has felt like it’s “starting over” in many ways after a disastrous year – new defensive coordinator, new staffers, new conference.

“If they’ll give us the time and put their effort into it, they will develop at USC,” Riley continued later, lips set and words knife-sharp. “With this staff, it’s not a matter of if. It’s going to happen.”

It was a relatively calm signing day for USC, reflecting a relatively understated class. Long Beach Millikan receiver Ryan Pellum was the only surprise, nonchalantly telling the crowd at a Millikan signing ceremony that he was flipping to Oregon.  The Millikan High gym sat, for a moment, in a stunned quiet. At the table next to Pellum, a teammate’s jaw literally dropped.

Pellum had been one of the few top prospects in the state still committed to the Trojans for next year. Otherwise, USC’s other 2024 commits (except Los Alamitos DB Isaiah Rubin) all signed letters of intent, preserving the core of a group with a relatively modest recruiting ranking, depending on your service of choice.

“The guys that don’t waver and have a passion for being here,” Riley said, “they’re going to hang in there through the ups and downs, they’re going to develop, and then you’re going to look up and down the line and they’re going to turn into really good players. So many of these guys never blinked. You can’t stress the importance of that enough.”

It was apparent in a November loss to Oregon – a program that has straight-up beat USC on the recruiting trail in the Riley era – that USC needed to develop size up front as it transitions to the Big Ten Conference. And as that’s been a key point of emphasis under new coordinator D’Anton Lynn, it was a similar key in USC’s 2024 recruiting approach, importing a solid amount of size in the trenches.

Florida offensive lineman Jason Zandamela (Clearwater Academy) and Atlanta defensive end Kameryn Fountain (Booker T. Washington High) are the true diamonds of the haul, two players who could see significant playing time as true freshmen. Defensive linemen Carlon Jones (Bay City High, Texas) and Jide Abasiri (Prior Lake High, Minnesota) are 290-pound shakers up front who were both pulled in under the recent Lynn administration. And Makai Saina (Martin High, Texas), Justin Tauanuu (Huntington Beach), Hayden Treter (Cherry Creek High, Colorado) and Kalolo Ta’aga (Bishop Riordan High, San Francisco) add developmental depth on the offensive line.

“Large human beings,” Riley grinned on Wednesday. “Large, large human beings.”

The class also bristles with highly-regarded defensive playmakers, from Newby to St. John Bosco cornerback Marcelles Williams to Sierra Canyon safety Marquis Gallegos.

There is a definite lack of offensive talent, particularly as Pellum flipped; Sierra Canyon’s Xavier Jordan is the only receiver in the class, and Bryan Jackson (McKinney High, Texas) the only running back. Riley said Wednesday that USC would look to add some skill position depth through the portal; not a couple hours later, in came a commitment from former Mississippi State back Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks, who racked up more than 3,000 yards from scrimmage across four years as a Bulldog.

The biggest question mark, still, remains at quarterback, where USC hasn’t had a 2024 commit. Former top prospect Malachi Nelson’s departure was “a little unexpected,” Riley said, and will change plans. As USC fans wait for the other shoe to drop on Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard, Riley said there’s a chance they’ll bring in two portal QBs – all but confirming Caleb Williams’ departure to the NFL.

None of the pomp and circumstance of Wednesday matters, of course, if USC can’t retain and develop talent, as Riley so emphatically emphasized at his presser. But – at least until the Big Ten chips fall – the Trojans appear to have put together a group on the basis that these players will stick in cardinal and gold.

“The opportunity to help bring this program back to where we all want it to be,” Riley said, “is shared across this class.”

As far as USC’s local signing efforts, “People have to realize we’re not in the Pac-12 anymore,” Riley said. “Those days are over. Look where we’re playing, look at the competition that we’re playing. Look where the majority of our conference lies. And that along with there’s just a lot of changes in college football in general where, I mean, no state of players is just staying home like they used to.”

ocregister.com

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