Why USC football is wasting time with its current recruiting strategy

USC football reemerged as somewhat of a social media laughingstock after a pair of five-star defensive recruits decommitted in two days. All is not lost, as the Trojans have retained five-star quarterback Julian Lewis's commitment. Also, many top recruits, headlined by defensive lineman Elijah Griffin, are slated to visit USC's campus this weekend.

However, all of the above are top high school players from Georgia. As such, we're thinking that Lincoln Riley is devoting too much time to recruiting in the wrong region.

USC football must lockdown the biggest recruits in California.

Many college football recruiting analysts believe Lewis is at risk of flipping to a school closer to home. Likewise, On3's Recruiting Prediction Machine favors Georgia (95.2%) to sign Griffin. The Dawgs are also the favorite to land Justus Terry's pledge ultimately.

Thus, we argue that Riley is wasting time and resources recruiting the best players from Georgia. Instead, the Trojans' head coach must focus on retaining California's best high school players.

Alabama's 2025 recruiting class is ranked fourth in On3's consensus board. Among the Crimson Tide's recruits are cornerback Chuck McDonald, offensive lineman Jackson Lloyd, and linebacker Abduall Sanders. All players are four-star recruits currently playing for California high schools.

Among the top 50 California high school recruits in the 2025 class, only two (Mata Tagoa'i and Hayden Lowe) are committed to the Trojans. The state's top quarterback recruit, Husan Longstreet, recently committed to Texas A&M.

Why isn't USC leading the recruiting efforts for the top in-state talent?

California doesn't currently have a 2025 five-star high school recruit. Such doesn't measure with the Southeast, a region with multiple five-star prospects. Thus, it's commendable that Riley is doing his best to extend his reach into another region's recruiting hotbed.

Conversely, we argue that USC is wasting its time trying to lure players born and raised a couple thousand miles from campus.

One of the indicators of a strong football recruiting program is control of in-state recruiting. LSU's Brian Kelly accomplished such when he signed 10 of Louisiana's top 12 recruits in 2024, including five-star Dominick McKinley. Kelly has already gained verbal commitments from six of the top eight Louisiana recruits for 2025.

We don't know why Riley isn't locking down California on the football recruiting front. Perhaps the USC head coach is hell-bent on a national strategy or recruit star-chasing. There's also the potential that a head coach from Muleshoe, Texas, isn't as effective at recruiting on the West Coast as USC administrators anticipated.

Regardless of the motivation, things need to change. The Trojans must return to a recruiting strategy that once elevated the football program to a dynasty.