By Kyle Golik
The blueprint of every head coach’s introductory press conference includes at some point galvanizing the local recruiting base to stay home and be the essential pipeline for their program.
When he took over Penn State, James Franklin said it was essential for him to “dominate the state,” and for the most part, he has kept the top Keystone State prospects at home albeit with some notable losses. Miami folks talk about “The State of Miami” keeping every high prized recruit south of Interstate 4 that connects Tampa and Daytona Beach. Mario Cristobal has made significant progress in this strategy.
One program that seems to be continuing to fall flat on their faces is the Southern California Trojans and Lincoln Riley seemingly hasn’t embraced the fertile recruiting ground California possesses.
Back when Riley was introduced as Southern California’s head coach in November 2021, Riley said all the right things saying recruiting was critical and relationships are important but he also said something that may have alluded to Riley’s recruiting strategy – something of a “Manifest Destiny” for the Trojans.
“We’ll certainly not just limit ourselves to that because we want to go get the best wherever they’re at but I think there’s also a realization that a lot of the best are right here and what a tremendous advantage for us for this program and it’ll certainly be very important for every member of our staff to to make sure that, again, I go back to the great athletes. That’s the easy part to see — we’re going to go get the great athletes that are the right people for this program and the right people for that locker room and the right people for the culture, and I hope there’s as many here as possible and of those we’re going to try like crazy to go get every one of them.”
While Riley acknowledged the perceived base in California that most of us would assume Southern California would build upon, there was a notion of recognition by Riley of it. Riley seemed to feel Southern California should be able to sell itself anywhere nationally and haul in the best nationally to be the best.
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It’s hard to not have that optimism if you are Riley at a blueblood like Southern California and the location which is an attraction in itself, but it seems Riley’s strategy to canvass the nation for the best has alienated his California base.
Orange County Register’s Luca Evans described how recruits aren’t feeling prioritized by Riley in his recent column.
Evans details the journey of Class of 2025 EDGE rusher Hayden Lowe. Lowe is from Oaks Christian in Westlake, California where he is rated four stars by 247Sports as the top EDGE rusher in California.
Lowe’s head coach Charlie Collins remembers when Riley first arrived at Southern California and saw Lowe as a raw freshman. Riley approached Collins, who marveled at Lowe and compared him to Oaks Christian alum and current New York Giant Kayvon Thibodeaux.
You would figure a prospect like Lowe would be a priority for Riley, but as Lowe sat waiting, Southern California was not calling. The Trojans were flirting with a pair of five-star recruits from Georgia in Justus Terry (Manchester) and Isaiah Gibson (Warner Robins), both which committed to Southern California back in March 2024.
It seemed that Lowe would be looking elsewhere to go to school, but as Lowe was evaluating the situation at home things changed drastically for the Trojans. In June, both Terry and Gibson decommitted from Southern California and Gibson committed to Georgia. As of this writing, Terry has not committed but the crystal balls are pointing the way for the Bulldogs.
All of a sudden, at the final hour Southern California prioritized Lowe and with Lowe always wanting to be a Trojan he committed almost instantly.
This did not sit well with Lowe’s head coach, “I kind of let ’em have it,” Collins reflected in July. “But you know, in a loving way. But I kind of like … don’t put yourself in that position, (in the) 11th hour.”
“I told Lincoln,” Collins continued, “USC is still USC, but we got to keep it that way. (The) way you do that is to make sure that you win your backyard.”
Southern Cal is not prioritizing Southern California recruits
Between the Classes of 2023 to 2025, Riley has not won many battles for the top talent in California. Riley has only gotten seven out of the 60 top California prospects (as of this writing). In perspective, Oregon had eight commitments from the Class of 2024 alone.
One of the major pipelines of talent is Mater Dei in Santa Ana. Over the years, they have produced Trojan quarterbacks such as Todd Marinovich, Matt Leinart, Matt Barkley, and JT Daniels. They have notable exports such as John Huarte (Notre Dame 1964 Heisman Trophy winner), Colt Brennan (Hawaii – threw for 14,193 yards taking the Warriors to the Sugar Bowl), and Bryce Young (Alabama – 2021 Heisman Trophy winner). It is the latter that is alarming a former Trojan quarterback.
Pete Carrol built a fence around Southern California and coaches knew they never had a shot of getting anyone during that time. If true this would be unfortunate as there is still tons of elite talent not only at MD but all over So Cal! https://t.co/ByteJDyAYn
— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) October 18, 2024
“Pete Carroll built a fence around Southern California and coaches knew they never had a shot of getting anyone during that time,” Leinart said on X. “If true this would be unfortunate as there is still tons of elite talent not only at MD but all over So Cal!”
Unfortunately for Leinart, there is truth to what he’s saying, none of the top 13 Mater Dei prospects in the Classes of 2025 and 2026 have committed to Southern California. To add insult to injury for Riley, a bitter rival continues to make a journey to Santa Ana to continue to recruit and watch players.
“But, our kids seen Dan Lanning two weeks ago,” Mater Dei receivers coach James Griffin said, referring to the Oregon head coach. “So. You know what I mean?”
Griffin continues to be perplexed by Riley’s deprioritization of California kids, and so does Griffin’s boss, Mater Dei head coach Jason Negro, who continue to see Lanning and various SEC coaches but not Riley.
“I would think that, if you have two of the best teams in the country year-in and year-out in your backyard, that you would – set up a tent on their campus trying to get all of our guys,” Negro said. “And they haven’t done that. So I don’t know why that is.”
As the losses continue to mount for Riley, its hard to figure why his staff hasn’t been more aggressive in regaining its home territory. Part of me feels there is a sense of arrogance that the best in California should just want to go to Southern California and will be there no matter what. When prospects like Lowe commit at the last minute, it enables this behavior for Riley. I don’t fault Lowe for chasing what he wants, but I can tell you other recruits like Lowe won’t be so patient.
It’s easy to explain losses now for Riley because Southern California had to rebuild at all levels. But a loss Riley won’t ever have the answer for is if he loses the natural California pipeline. That one he can ill afford to lose. The fact Dan Lanning has the time to visit with the frequency he does, is Carroll-eque. Riley needs to match it because he isn’t even beating Lanning in his own backyard.
