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USC football recruiting has been on fire of late. After a big weekend that saw the Trojans land two commitments, USC currently holds the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for the 2026 cycle. Much of the Trojans’ surge on the recruiting trail can be attributed to new general manager Chad Bowden and a revamped recruiting staff. With Bowden at the helm, USC is now a much stronger player in the NIL game than it was a few months ago. Lincoln Riley finally made structural changes which needed to happen. We can see the results.
With that being said, however, there are still more than nine months to go until early signing day for the class of 2026. That means there is plenty of time for the Trojans to add to their class, but also plenty of time for it to fall apart.
Landing a top recruiting class will be critical for head coach Lincoln Riley. With a record of just 14-11 over the past two seasons, USC fans have not had a ton to be optimistic about regarding the future of the program. The fan base is desperate for some sort of positive momentum, and landing an elite class would certainly generate that.
At the end of the day, though, recruiting success and on-field success go hand-in-hand. If the Trojans are winning more games this fall, more recruits will want to jump on the USC bandwagon. If they are struggling just to make a bowl game again, however, some of the guys who have committed may begin to have second thoughts.
Which is where things come back to Riley. Obviously, USC needs to improve on the field this season simply because the past two years have been nowhere near good enough. But given the Trojans’ current recruiting situation, it is especially critical that Riley and his staff put a good product on the field in 2025 in order to convince recruits that the program truly is trending upward.
No one is expecting the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/lincoln-riley-must-hold-together-092338301.html
Author : Trojans Wire
Publish date : 2025-02-25 09:23:00
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