USC recruiting thoughts: 7 takeaways from the Trojans' recruiting hot streak (2024)

LOS ANGELES — USC has picked up eight commitments over the past three weeks, vaulting the Trojans to 12th nationally in the 247Sports Composite after a quiet first few months of the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Here are thoughts on USC’s eventful and impressive recruiting stretch.

1. Four-star corner Marcelles Williams of St. John Bosco committed to USC on Sunday morning. I offered some analysis, but one thing to note is that Williams is the Trojans’ third defensive commit who ranks among the top 200 prospects nationally.

In the previous recruiting cycle, USC signed only two top-200 defensive prospects — four-star edge rusher Braylan Shelby (No. 85) and four-star linebacker Tackett Curtis (No. 108).

Only one of the three top-200 defensive commits plays along the defensive front — edge rusher Kameryn Fountain — so some fans probably want to see USC add more high-profile linebackers and D-linemen. But the truth is, the Trojans need to add more high-end talent everywhere on defense. While the secondary wasn’t the main reason USC struggled defensively in 2022, it didn’t cover itself in glory throughout the season.

USC simply needs more size, speed and athleticism in the secondary. Williams and four-star defensive back Dakoda Fields of Serra High should help in that department.

2. Defensive backs coach Donte Williams has earned his reputation as an ace recruiter, but the 2023 cycle was a rather quiet one for the position. USC signed only two DBs, and Oregon landed the state’s top two corners — Serra’s Rodrick Pleasant and Long Beach Poly’s Daylen Austin — from the Trojans’ backyard.

With commitments from Fields and Marcelles Williams, Donte Williams has bounced back this cycle. And he seemed to revel in the recent success with this tweet after Marcelles Williams’ commitment Sunday. And there are still five months remaining in the cycle for Williams to add more talent to the USC secondary.

#FightOn ✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽 pic.twitter.com/x08GditGP9

— Donte Williams (@CoachDee_USC) June 18, 2023

3. USC’s top three commits are from Southern California — which is no surprise — but it’s difficult to overlook the national feel of this class.

There are two four-star commitments from Georgia (Fountain and tight end Walter Matthews), four-star commitments from Oregon and Connecticut, as well as prospects from Florida and Colorado.

So what attracted Matthews to the Trojans?

“Lincoln, for sure,” Matthews said at Elite 11 Finals last week, referring to USC second-year coach Lincoln Riley. “He was the selling point for me. The whole staff, the way they interact with each other. It felt like a real family.”

This staff has deep Texas ties and is recruiting the state pretty heavily. The Trojans have seemingly made a good impression with Longview High running back Taylor Tatum, who is the top player nationally at his position, and receiver Drelon Miller, a top-100 prospect from Silsbee High. USC is also among the five finalists for four-star linebacker Tyanthony Smith from Jasper High and just hosted three-star offensive lineman Makai Saina of Arlington Martin. We’ll see what the Trojans’ efforts in the Lone Star State produce in this cycle.

4. Last week, five-star offensive lineman Brandon Baker from Mater Dei released his top-10 list. USC wasn’t on it, which was not a big surprise. There had been reports in recent months that the Trojans weren’t in the mix.

Mater Dei has historically served as a strong pipeline to USC. The Trojans have five scholarship players from the school on the roster heading into the season. But Baker will go elsewhere, and USC doesn’t look like the leader for the other high-profile Mater Dei linemen, four-star Aydin Breland (defense) and four-star DeAndre Carter (offense).

These prospects all play positions of need and come from a school that has been kind to the Trojans in the past. So there appears to be some sort of disconnect.

5. I was at the Elite 11 Finals, and it felt a little weird that there was no real USC presence there — other than Caleb Williams, who attended the first day of workouts. It was the first time since 2018 that USC didn’t have a commit at the event, and the Trojans would’ve had one that year if JT Daniels didn’t reclassify.

USC will roll into 2024 with Miller Moss and Malachi Nelson competing for the starting job, and both will be fairly inexperienced (assuming Caleb Williams remains healhty).

Riley has signed a high-profile QB recruit in pretty much every other class, so it wouldn’t be a total surprise if USC doesn’t land an elite recruit this cycle. But back in late March, Riley said he wants to add a quarterback every year.

He pursued five-star prospects Dylan Raiola and DJ Lagway, but they committed to Georgia and Florida, respectively. That leaves the door wide-open for USC to add a quarterback through the transfer portal after the 2023 season. The program would be a very attractive destination considering 1) Riley’s track record with transfer QBs (three Heisman Trophy winners) and 2) the supporting cast and skill players on offense will be extremely enticing to play with.

So the quarterback situation and the developments there will be worth watching over the second half of the season.

6. USC announced plans for a new football facility last week. New facilities were hinted at on the day Riley was introduced as USC’s coach, but nothing concrete surfaced until last week.

As I wrote the other day, the Trojans sorely needed this. The John McKay Center is nice but pales in comparison to some of the facilities at programs USC is recruiting against on an annual basis.

At the end of the day, facilities probably won’t win over a recruit, but facilities won’t be the reason USC loses a recruit in the future.

7. Another sign of change to come: When recruits took part in photo shoots this weekend, USC’s jerseys had the Big Ten patch on the shoulder.

Trojan Fans what y’all think…✌🏽 pic.twitter.com/U4aGrU38uC

— DrelonMiller (@DrelonMiller) June 19, 2023

This will be the first Trojans recruiting class that plays exclusively in the Big Ten. As of Monday morning, USC’s 2024 class would rank fourth in the Big Ten. It’s third in the Pac-12.

(Photo of Lincoln Riley: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

Antonio Morales covers USC football for The Athletic. Previously, he spent three years at the Clarion Ledger in Mississippi, where he covered Ole Miss for two seasons and Jackson State for another. He also spent two years covering preps for the Orange County Register and Torrance Daily Breeze. Follow Antonio on Twitter @AntonioCMorales