What is the greatest USC football recruiting class of all-time?

USC football’s No. 14 recruiting class: 2009

Grade: 5/10 Class Ranking: 3rd nationally | 1st in Pac-12 Class Composition:

2 ★★★★★ 12 ★★★★ 4 ★★★

With sanctions on the horizon, USC could have used much better luck when it came to the 2009 class, which included more transfers than success stories.

Exceeded expectations:

Matt Barkley was a four-year starter who left USC with 20 school records to his name. Under the circumstances of his time as a Trojan, that’s befitting the nation’s top-rated player.

Linebacker Devon Kennard also lived up to his five-star billing with 32 careers starts and a spot as a finalist for the Lott IMPACT Award.

Four-star T.J. McDonald followed in his father’s footsteps as a team captain and All-American at safety.

Contributors:

Kevin Graf and John Martinez were steady presences on USC’s offensive line, with 38 and 30 career starts to their names respectively.

The same could be said of Jawanza Starling who notched 33 starts at safety and three-star Torin Harris who started 13 games for the Trojans at cornerback.

Disappointments:

Unfortunately, the disappointments of 2009 were many.

USC saw five four-star members of the class transfer away before long, including receiver Patrick Hall, tight end James Boyd, safety Byron Moore and defensive lineman Hebron Fangupo.

Linebacker Jarvis Jones was among those transfers, but his promising Trojan career was ended when he was not given medical clearance and he transferred somewhere that would clear him to play.

Frankie Telfort never saw the field because of a medical condition uncovered as a freshman.

Meanwhile, four-star receiver De’Von Flournoy and linebacker Marquis Simmons never developed beyond backups.