USC football recruiting class for 2019 rises to Top 15 after All-American Bowl

The USC football recruiting class for 2019 is now ranked No. 13 nationally after picking up two five start commitments at the All-American Bowl.

There’s a saying: Things are never as good, nor as bad as they seem. The second half of that saying may be the motto of USC football recruiting for 2019.

Less then a week into 2019, USC now ranks No. 13 in the 247Sports team rankings, trailing No. 12 Auburn by 0.33 points.

The Trojans were poised with a lowly ranking leaving 2018. And that standing at 22nd was an improvement thanks to a strong Early Signing Day showing.

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Even then, it was clear there would be major opportunities for USC to move up the rankings, with some of their biggest targets of the cycle slated to announce decisions at the All-American Bowl.

That showcase game took place on Saturday and indeed, the Trojans grabbed their chance to rise.

It started with five-star wide receiver Kyle Ford, who made his announcement from the sidelines, unable to play in the game because of a torn ACL. He picked USC over Washington, Oregon and others, opting to stay home after finishing his high school career at Orange Lutheran.

USC did swing and miss on four-star cornerback Chris Steele, who made his pledge to Florida, but a second five-star commit in Bru McCoy ensured another major bump up the standings.

McCoy, the nation’s No. 1 athlete and a Top 10 prospect nationally, was the last recruit to make his announcement. He chose the Trojans over Texas, strengthening the Mater Dei-to-USC pipeline.

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Landing Ford and McCoy was a major victory for the Trojans, and a very necessary one. Letting two of the nation’s elite prospects walk out of Los Angeles would have been a disaster for the class of 2019.

Considering the unease around the program and a disappointing 5-7 record in 2018, USC can still hang its hat on the power of its recruiting with the current crop of signees and commits in hand.

And there is likely more to come. The Trojans have room to sign another handful of players. If they prevail in the recruitment of four-star guard Enokk Vimahi, four-star defensive back Noa Pola-Gates and four-star defensive tackle Matthew Pola-Mao, among others, they could be on track to secure a sixth-straight Top 10 recruiting class.