When Pete Carroll was on the top of his powers at USC, the legendary coach made it a degree to personal the California recruiting scene. In turning the Trojans into perennial title contenders, Carroll got down to “put a fence” across the Southland, to maintain all of its prime prospects at dwelling, in cardinal and gold.
It turned out to be a successful technique. However recruiting the very best gamers in your personal yard, as Carroll noticed it, wasn’t actually rocket science.
“It seemed like common sense,” Carroll informed The Occasions in 2006, after the Trojans had signed back-to-back recruiting courses ranked No. 1 general.
But since Carroll’s exit, his successors at USC haven’t made it look so easy. Any semblance of USC’s native supremacy below Carroll was ceded utterly over the previous decade as different faculty soccer powers, reminiscent of Ohio State or Oregon, planted their very own flags on the Trojans’ dwelling turf. The issue solely festered additional below Lincoln Riley, because the coach initially forged a wider web nationally, aiming for prime prospects in states like Texas and Florida whereas native stars signed and shined elsewhere.
Mater Dei receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt makes a catch over the center in opposition to Bishop Gorman at Santa Ana Stadium.
(Craig Weston)
Riley waited till his fourth season to return to the technique that labored so properly for Carroll.
And it took lower than one 12 months after that for USC to return to the prime of the recruiting world.
The coronation turned official Wednesday, as USC inked the No. 1 recruiting class within the nation on early signing day, marking the primary time in virtually twenty years that the Trojans stood atop the recruiting throne of school soccer.
Not solely that, it’s the primary time since 2008, in keeping with 247 Sports activities, {that a} faculty exterior of the Southeastern Convention completed with the nation’s prime class. And for Riley, it’s the primary time he’s signed a prime 5 class, not to mention the No. 1 general.
He reached these heights this cycle, very similar to Carroll had, with native prospects main the way in which. Of the Trojans’ 35 signees Wednesday, 20 got here from the state of California. Seven of the state’s prime 25 prospects, as ranked by 247 Sports activities, selected USC, whereas no different faculty signed greater than 4 from that prime tier. Eight gamers within the class come from the powerhouse Trinity League, after USC had signed simply 5 within the earlier 4 courses mixed.
Amongst that group had been 4 blue-chip prospects from Santa Ana Mater Dei Excessive, the preps powerhouse that after produced Matt Leinart and had lengthy served as a primary pipeline to USC. That relationship had fallen by the wayside till lately. However on Wednesday morning, within the gymnasium at Mater Dei, title placards had been arrange for prime tight finish Mark Bowman, four-star top-100 defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui and four-star linebacker Shaun Scott — in addition to elite wideout Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, whose flip from Ohio State to USC on signing day morning turned one of many greater tales of the day.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, Bowman was the one one of many Trojans’ earlier commits who remained unsigned.
The late flip of Dixon-Wyatt proved to be the pièce de résistance Wednesday from normal supervisor Chad Bowden, whose arrival lower than a 12 months in the past has reworked the Trojans’ recruiting operation.
Earlier than, Riley had ruffled some feathers domestically when he implied that many native gamers on USC’s roster had been solely there as a result of they had been from native colleges. Mater Dei hadn’t despatched a prospect to USC since 2022. Only one participant, previous 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 stated in 2023.
However Bowden made it clear inside weeks of being on the job that USC’s focus would begin at the beginning in Southern California. He stated in January that he considered the native 2026 class as the very best the Southland had seen in twenty years — nevermind that Bowden was within the fifth grade in the beginning of that cycle.
“Again when nationwide championships had been gained right here, when Rose Bowls had been gained right here, you already know, you look again at Pete Carroll’s courses — ‘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) begins celebration in win over Bishop Gorman.
(Craig Weston)
That plan started with repairing relationships within the native recruiting scene, a lot 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 stated. “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 mother and father, coaches and native soccer energy 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,” stated Brandon Huffman, the nationwide recruiting editor for 247 Sports activities. “Their whole philosophical change paid off in a major way.”
A renewed concentrate on the road of scrimmage was additionally a transparent focus of USC’s class, as practically half (15) of the Trojans’ 35 signees had been both offensive or defensive linemen or edge rushers. Offensive deal with Keenyi Pepe, USC’s top-ranked signee at No. 5 general, is the primary five-star offensive lineman to signal with the college since Austin Jackson in 2017.
Elevated assets to pay gamers hasn’t damage USC’s efforts, both. It’s no coincidence that the Trojans noticed a rush of commitments final spring and into early summer season, simply earlier than the Home settlement went into impact on July 1. These offers had been front-loaded in order to keep away from the $20.5 million income share cap for the 2025 season. ESPN reported this week that the value tag for the incoming class would price “north of $9 million.”
USC actually isn’t alone in that regard, as income sharing and title, picture and likeness funds have turn into a primary a part of the method. That’s not a dynamic that Carroll ever needed to cope with as coach.
However on Wednesday, USC returned to the identical hallowed recruiting floor that Carroll as soon as owned, with the nation’s prime class in tow and a newfound hope that 2026 would possibly simply be the beginning of one thing even greater.
