June has come and gone, USC recruiting is still looking incredibly strong

To an extent it is fair. For many, despite the slew of positives, USC is going to inevitably resort back to not being good by any acceptable metric. Those voices are too married, however, to what has been witnessed in more recent memory. While the past seasons under coach Lincoln Riley and beforehand were underwhelming, there has been a noticeable, tangible shift.

If things were to have simply continued, par for the course, then critics would have every right to sneer and poke fun at the Trojans. Credit does have to be given to coach Riley, however, in how he has recognized the areas in which USC has come up short, and he has actively gone about finding the right people for the right positions to address the areas that were lacking in previous years.

An area in which this criticism has repeatedly come up is recruiting. Yes, prior years were more disorganized and less targeted compared to what Trojan fans are now seeing with GM Chad Bowden.

There is not a fear, however, of seeing multiple commitments changing their minds and then deciding to go elsewhere. And no, it is not a question of money. All programs have deep pockets and people that are willing to use the available means to support their school in question and their NIL efforts.

Togetherness at USC

Instead, this has everything to do with the genuine relationships and trust that this coach Riley staff have already established. It also needs to be noted how the camaraderie is also incredibly strong at this point among the commits. Case in point, Madden Riordan will soon be joined by fellow USC commit Brandon Lockhart at Sierra Canyon.

At this point there is truly too much going for the 2026 and 2027 classes to reasonably fear decommitments en masse. That may have been something to be concerned about prior, but at USC, that is no longer the case.