LOS ANGELES — Sorting through 11 thoughts from USC’s early signing period.
1. Lincoln Riley mostly tiptoed around it throughout the season, mainly out of respect for USC’s team and what it accomplished in improving from 4-8 to 11-2 and one win short of a College Football Playoff appearance.
The Trojans’ roster was a major work in progress when Riley took over last November. Riley acknowledged during the season that it would not be a one-year fix and there was still plenty of work to be done.
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USC’s talent level didn’t match what many would expect when compared to the program’s historical standards or from a team that flirted with a CFP bid. (Side note: Caleb Williams makes up for a lot of deficiencies.)
“Certainly, in my mind, we’re going to have more talented teams going forward,” Riley said at his early signing period news conference Wednesday afternoon. “In reality, I think when we look back 10 years from now, this will probably be in some ways the less-talented teams we have.”
It’s finally here. ✍️✌️#NSD #ClubXXIII pic.twitter.com/FkpmWVgrVz
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) December 21, 2022
The Trojans’ recruiting class will finish somewhere around 15th nationally once the early signing period closes Friday. USC landed three five-star prospects (quarterback Malachi Nelson and receivers Zachariah Branch and Makai Lemon) and signed five offensive linemen (which should help rebuild some depth with that group) and two highly touted defensive players (edge rusher Braylan Shelby and linebacker Tackett Curtis) at positions of need.
Overall, the 19-member class is a good step forward in elevating the program’s talent level.
2. But this is USC, where top-10 (or even top-five) classes are treated like a birthright, so 15th is viewed by a good segment of the fans as a disappointment, especially when those three five-star prospects all committed a year ago.
Wednesday featured more disappointment than excitement. Five-star rusher Matayo Uiagalelei from St. John Bosco chose Oregon over USC and Ohio State.
Uiagalelei has massive potential. That still has to be realized on the college level, but the Trojans wanted him. Riley made a point to meet with him on the field shortly after USC beat Notre Dame last month.
It was the second time in eight months that this coaching staff lost a hotly contested recruiting battle for a five-star lineman to the Ducks and coach Dan Lanning. In April, offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr. signed with Oregon when USC was the perceived favorite.
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Uiagalelei was at the very least a symbolic loss for Riley and the Trojans, who have designs on keeping Southern California’s best prospects home. Yes, Nelson is the top-rated player in California, but Riley built that relationship for nearly two years, and the five-star QB was likely going to sign with Riley no matter where he coached.
Uiagalelei was a toss-up prospect, and USC lost that battle. The Trojans’ class is good, but there could have been more high-end talent.
Riley said the following about the program Wednesday: “The reality is this is just the tip of the iceberg here. This is still so bottom level for what this program can be.That’s the genuine excitement you feel in our halls.”
If USC wants to win national championships, which is what it hired Riley to do, then it will have to find a way to reach that top level of recruiting.
3. Oregon signed Uiagalelei and flipped four high-end prospects: Long Beach Poly corner Daylen Austin (from LSU), quarterback Austin Novosad (from Baylor), five-star safety Peyton Bowen (from Notre Dame) and running back Jayden Limar (from Notre Dame). Bowen, however, had yet to officially sign as of Wednesday night.
That was a strong response after losing five-star quarterback Dante Moore to UCLA earlier in the week. The fact the Ducks finished so strong and reclaimed the top spot in the Pac-12 recruiting rankings will likely be an added sting to USC fans who were disappointed with the Trojans’ quiet finish.
Mario Cristobal elevated Oregon’s recruiting and took advantage of a down USC when it was floundering under Clay Helton. Riley has provided stability and has the Trojans on much better footing recruiting-wise, but the Ducks aren’t going anywhere. Wednesday proved that.
4. It’s been a long, winding journey, but Nelson finally signed with USC on Wednesday. Helton’s staff prioritized Nelson as its main 2023 QB target nearly three years ago, and USC trended well with him because of the relationships he built with assistant coaches Graham Harrell and Seth Doege.
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The Trojans led until Riley, Oklahoma’s coach at the time, entered the picture. Riley landed a commitment from Nelson in July 2021, and Nelson flipped to USC shortly after Riley took the job that November.
Nelson has been the centerpiece of this class for more than a year. And if everything goes right with his development, he will be next in line at quarterback once Williams departs after the 2023 season.
“Malachi, I’ve always thought, is a really unique talent,” Riley said in his first public comments about the QB. “His ability to throw the ball and process at a young age, he’s certainly well ahead of his years there and very, very impressive. … As far as what we’re looking for at the quarterback position, he’s a guy I feel like has a very bright future as a player, as a leader and as a winner, and that’s what we have to have at that position.”
Nelson is the first five-star quarterback USC has signed since JT Daniels in the 2018 recruiting cycle.
5. Nelson is the No. 3 overall player in the country, per the 247Sports Composite. Branch is ranked fifth and is a major source of excitement within the program and among the fan base.
The 5-foot-10, 172-pound wideout possesses the shiftiness and elusiveness USC hasn’t had at the receiver position in a while.
“Zach is a special talent,” Riley said. “His explosiveness is very, very rare. You go a lot of years and don’t come across a guy who has that elite explosiveness combined with really, really good football skills. A lot of the time you have to pick one or the other.”
Branch and running back Raleek Brown, a true freshman this past fall, will certainly be electric players to watch over the next few years.
Lemon had a great career at Los Alamitos (Calif.) High and put together an impressive senior season. A year ago, USC needed to upgrade its receiver group. A year later, Riley has come a long way in doing that.
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“When you combine (Branch) with Makai Lemon, who we think is very, very special as well, that tandem right there is as good (as) anywhere you’ll find in the country,” Riley said.
6. USC’s defensive front seven was a major weakness last season, so it didn’t come as a surprise Wednesday when Riley said, “Front seven was front and center in all of our minds.”
The Trojans have targeted defensive linemen, linebackers and edge rushers heavily since the Pac-12 championship game. The simple reality is USC won’t compete at an elite level until it gets better up front on defense, particularly on the line, where the talent level was closer to the Mountain West than the SEC last season.
Over the past week and change, USC has added Arizona defensive lineman Kyon Barrs and Oklahoma State linebacker Mason Cobb through the transfer portal. Barrs was second-team All-Pac-12 in 2021. Cobb was second-team All-Big 12 this fall. The Trojans have been in the mix for several other transfers there as well.
Wednesday, USC officially signed Curtis, who should be the future of the linebacker position for the program.
“There wasn’t a linebacker in the country we wanted more than Tackett Curtis,” Riley said. “I think he’s the best inside linebacker in the country. There’s not one I would take over him. I think he is phenomenal.”
Shelby is a top-100 prospect and fills a need at edge rusher as well. The Trojans are going to need more players like Curtis and Shelby in subsequent classes and will have to bring in more size to the interior of the defensive line.
7. Last year, USC signed just seven high school players and brought in nearly 20 transfers through the portal. This offseason has been a bit more balanced, with 19 high school signees and only six transfers (though that number will certainly increase).
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“Personal preference is to have it closer to what we’re doing this year versus last year,” Riley said. “But with the interest we have in coming here, and obviously with the success we’ve had, the portal is always going to have a role here.”
8. Here is the list of players who will enroll early and join the program next month: Nelson, Branch, Lemon, Curtis, four-star offensive lineman Elijah Paige, four-star running backs Quinten Joyner and A’Marion Peterson, four-star corner Maliki Crawford, three-star defensive lineman Sam Greene and three-star safety Christian Pierce.
9. Riley has been outspoken about NIL in the past and how it has altered recruiting. USC’s approach to NIL has been a growing frustration among a vocal segment of its fan base as well. Riley was asked about NIL and its role in recruiting again Wednesday.
“I think we’re very, very confident and secure in the opportunities our guys are getting,” Riley said. “The reality is (in) this day and age, you’ve got to make decisions on how you’re going to handle this because it is so new and there is no manual. I think what we’re seeing a lot across the country is I think you see a lot of people maybe not quite paying attention to the locker room and getting fixated on one recruit here, one recruit there. There’s some obvious big, big risks with that because at the end of the day, this game is still a team game, and the best teams win this game. We’re going to continue to have a team-first focus on it and continue to try to put our guys in a position where they all can do very, very well on the field, off the field, NIL, all those things.”
10. Riley was then asked whether he thought he lost any recruits because of NIL, to which he said: “Yeah. Of course we did. Everybody did.”
Then he expanded on his thoughts: “Just like every university is different, every family is different. Everybody’s priorities are different. Who am I to sit up here and say this is our correct priority and this is incorrect? There’s no judgment on it. Everybody’s got their priorities at the end of the day. We’re looking for people whose priorities align with USC’s priorities, and USC’s priorities are going to be put the team first. It’s going to be about the university, the education first. NIL is going to be a part of it here and a tremendous opportunity, but it’s never going to be No. 1 on the priority list. And if it is, listen, it’s not going to be the right fit here anyway. We’re looking for guys — like the locker room we have — who want the team success first and understand if you do it right, then the success individually, whether it’s guys getting honors, getting drafted, NIL deals, that will come.”
Throughout the day, Riley consistently pointed out the program’s culture and referenced the chemistry and the locker room. It’s clear he values that. As long as he’s USC’s coach, it’s doubtful NIL will be the program’s No. 1 selling point. Time will tell if that’s the correct approach, but that seems to be the mindset for now.
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11. Some will point to USC’s NIL situation as a reason it failed to produce an elite class this cycle.
Notre Dame isn’t at the forefront of the NIL space and ranks ninth nationally. Ohio State has had NIL struggles and ranks fifth.
It’s difficult to pinpoint why USC didn’t make the jump most expected in the recruiting rankings this cycle. There will be plenty of theories, though. It was Riley’s first year with the program, but Miami, LSU, Oregon, Oklahoma and Notre Dame all have first-year coaches and have top-10 classes.
Maybe recruits needed to see proof of concept first, but Cristobal just produced a 5-7 season, and his class ranks fourth nationally. Riley has nearly as many wins in one season at USC (11) as Steve Sarkisian does in two seasons at Texas (13), but the Longhorns’ class ranks third nationally.
Some might think recruits aren’t buying into defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, but it’s not as though Oregon, Miami or Florida had impressive defensive seasons.
The fact is it doesn’t matter why USC didn’t reel in an elite class. The state of California appears to have a much deeper talent pool in the 2024 cycle than it did this past year. If USC has true designs on winning at an elite, national championship level, it’ll have to figure out a way to sign an elite class next cycle and stockpile that with more and more talented classes in subsequent years.
“The goal is to not win signing day,” Riley said Wednesday. “The goal is to win championships.”
Championships are the goal. But as Alabama and Georgia have proved the past few years, there’s room to win signing day and national championships.
(Photo of Lincoln Riley: David Becker / Getty Images)
