We need to talk about USC's recruiting class

Arguably the biggest story of the college football offseason is USC's complete revamp of its off-the-field operation. The Trojans hired Lincoln Riley to compete for national championships and so far that hasn't happened. After winning 11 of his first 12 games, Riley has won 15 of his last 28. 

And so Riley and company went shopping this winter. USC hired the top two recruiting staffers away from rival Notre Dame, along with the top personnel executive at Illinois and Wisconsin, respectively. They've hired a director of analytics for the first time in program history. They're hiring a new strength coach. This, after hiring a new defensive coordinator away from rival UCLA last year. In short: USC has invested a lot of money toward constructing a bigger, stronger, more talented football team. 

"I want college football to catch up to us. I want everybody to sit there and say, 'Man you see what they're doing?' They already are, quietly, which has been really fun the last 30 days... They're calling and asking around, what is going on at USC? And I'm loving every minute of it, because we're coming," new general manager Chad Bowden said in March. 

And so far, the plan is working in recruiting. Key words: So far.

Over the weekend, USC increased its lead over the rest of the nation by landing three highly-rated commitments. 

The wave started Thursday, when USC landed Keenyi Pope, the No. 9 player and No. 3 offensive tackle in the nation (all rankings via 247Sports composite) out of IMG Academy. On Friday, USC nabbed cornerback Elbert Hill, the No. 101 overall prospect out of Akron, Ohio. And then on Saturday, the Trojans added Luc Weaver, a 3-star wide receiver out of nearby Sherman Oaks, Calif. 

With those three in the boat, USC has increased its lead over the rest of the nation for the famed recruiting national title. USC has 294.78 points in the 247 formula; No. 2 Notre Dame has 236.07. Of note: USC has 27 commitments; Notre Dame has 14. In terms of number of commitments, no one else in the country has more than 17 (and it's Northern Illinois). Texas, winner of the 2025 recruiting national title, has five commitments. 2024 champ Georgia has seven. 2023 champ Alabama has five. Furthermore, Texas won the 2025 crown with 312.27 points in the 247 formula. Georgia had 317 in 2024, and Alabama posted 325 in 2023. Texas A&M set the 247 record with 333.13 points in 2022, and that class fell apart almost as soon as it came together. 

In short: USC will have to continue adding players to maintain its lead over the nation, and even signing the No. 1-ranked class doesn't guarantee success on the field.

All that said, USC has positioned itself to hold on to its class better than it did in years past. The Trojans still recruit nationally, as does everyone with aspirations of winning a national title: in addition to Pope (who's originally from Southern California), USC's other 5-star, athlete Xavier Griffin, hails from deep in SEC country (Gainesville, Ga.). The class also has players from Texas, Ohio, Louisiana and Illinois. But it's the first time in the 5-year Riley era in which more than 50 percent of USC's high school recruits hail from California.

More importantly, it's a stark increase from USC's last two classes. 

"It's been fun to see the class come together," Riley recently told Big Ten Network. "A lot of guys that, obviously there's an individual part to these decisions, but there's also, you feel the class, they really want to do it together and they want to do it here. It's been very special to see it come together."

Mandatory disclosure: it's May. The majority (all?) of USC's 27 pledges will take official visits elsewhere in June, and "final offers" from the Trojans' competition won't come until close to the early signing day deadline of Dec. 3. USC will spend the next five months playing a lot of defense.

"Gonna cost a lot of money," a rival coach told FootballScoop on USC's prospects of holding this class together.