Additional top USC recruiting class is a result of a concerted effort by the Trojan staff

It doesn't come as too much of a surprise for USC fans. Among a string of good news from the recruiting trail, the Trojans now boast the No. 1 recruiting class for 2026. To interpret this as anything other than a positive is a misreading of the situation.

With GM Chad Bowden, the concerted promise to focus on high school recruiting continues to garner great results for the program. And under coach Lincoln Riley, USC is starting to recruit like past versions of this team when the program was at the top in college football. Certain hires before coach Riley set the roster back a couple of years, particularly in the trenches.

However, under this current staff, things markedly look to be on the uptick, and the legacy and heritage of the Cardinal and Gold are showing their strength in a timeframe before many would necessarily expect. The coaches are working hard behind the scenes. Ultimately, the run of commitments is a result of the culture and close connectedness that continue to be fostered on campus.

Comfortable recruiting so far ahead for USC

This is part of the reason why the staff feels comfortable recruiting players for next year and the year after. Even with the often seemingly fickleness of commitments and flips that can go on in this space.

Those types of concerns are valid. What USC is counting on, though, is that by establishing a firm connection and building up relationships early while showing an enhanced level of consistency compared to other schools, the likelihood of any future recruit or commit even wanting to consider other options will be mitigated.

There will certainly be players now who are listed as a commit who will end up changing their mind for one reason or another. By and large, on the whole, this approach is not only paying off now and giving fans something of a buzz but will also allow for a run of sustainability in terms of a continued pipeline from the high school ranks to USC for years to come.