Mark Bowman joining USC surprises those doubting the Trojan recruiting resurgence

Gabriel S. Esparza

Notre Dame Fighting Irish v University of Southern California / Melinda Meijer/ISI Photos/GettyImages

For some reason, USC recruiting the way they historically always have is too big of a stretch for the rest of college football to believe. Especially among high schoolers from the Southern California region, that perception of being a Trojan is shifting back to what that has always meant.

While teams and fan bases from the SEC are incredulous over others using money to attract talent, coach Lincoln Riley is not someone who would simply throw cash around, regardless of what may or may not be at his disposal in the recruiting budget.

Instead, for him and GM Chad Bowden, putting in the work early to develop an understanding of who the players are and seeing part of the reasons as to why they would want to come to USC have been the hallmarks of the latest approach. As a consequence, the upcoming classes are the top throughout all of college football.

It is, however, a result of carefully thought-out efforts and a unified vision within the program. Then combine those efforts with how the staff is seemingly everywhere and constantly in great communication with recruits that they have reached out to.

The outreach efforts of those currently on the roster and the future Trojans to be are also adding to the family-like dynamic that is currently present on the USC campus. In other words, none of this is happening in a vacuum. It is almost too easy to be able to dismiss the claim that these classes and high-level recruits are only a result of money.

Reaction from SEC fans in regards to latest USC recruiting win

That is what DawgNation Daily's Brandon Adams believes is the only reason why tight end Mark Bowman chose USC over everyone else. Never mind that Georgia finds itself on the winning end of many bidding wars, but it must be seen as an easy way to compensate every time someone chooses to not be a Bulldog.

The Trojan approach is working. Watching how others are reacting to USC getting back to what it has always been as a program is an interesting case study in how other fan bases cope.

Gabriel S. Esparza

Gabriel Esparza is a FanSided contributor. He enjoys writing about and covering multiple sports across all aspects. You can follow him on X: @SportsPulse100. He can usually be found catching a current game or rewatching one from the past. His prior work has been featured on Yardbarker and MSN. When he isn't enjoying a game, he's listening to a podcast or enjoying some good tunes.