Checking in on USC Football’s Recruiting Class

After losing to Iowa in the Holiday Bowl and posting an 8-5 record, USC football is struggling to meet the lofty expectations of its fans once again with a relatively disappointing 2020 recruiting season — though there are certainly some bright spots.

Recently retained head coach Clay Helton and recently extended offensive coordinator Graham Harrell have corralled the 57th ranked recruiting class in the nation, rightfully ahead of programs such as Wake Forest, Syracuse and East Carolina but behind others like Vanderbilt, Duke and Cincinnati, per 247Sports. USC ranks third to last in recruiting among Pac-12 football programs.

The Trojans’ 2020 recruiting class is headlined by four-star Centennial wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr., who announced his commitment to USC Jan. 4 at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, and enrolled on Jan. 7. The Corona native is ranked as the nation’s 57th best overall player — the sixth best in California — and as the nation’s  eighth best receiver.

Bryant noted that USC’s Air Raid passing game was a major factor in his decision to pick the Trojans over other competitive programs like Arizona State, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington.

“[USC] just feels like home for me,” Bryant said immediately after announcing his commitment. “They have an Air Raid offense that I feel I could go in there and play big at.”

Moorpark offensive guard Jonah Monheim is the second and last four-star recruit in USC’s class, but far from the last offensive lineman, as Helton has recruited six in total this offseason. 

Apart from Monheim, Courtland Ford, Caadyn Stephen, Casey Collier, Andrew Milek and Andres Dewerk are all three-star recruits. All six come from west of the Mississippi River, and only Monheim, Ford and Stephen are nationally ranked.

“I think [there were] a lot of factors,” Monheim said about his commitment decision. “It was the history of being a great program, I think it was staying close to home and having family nearby; it was the great academics that USC offers.”

These qualities of USC football — history, weather, proximity and academics — have attracted top recruits for decades. But recent struggles, as well as a perceived instability within the program, have contributed toward USC losing the recruiting stronghold it once had in the region and Pac-12.

“It was 10, 12 years ago where we were fortunate enough to be a part of championship teams [at USC],” former Trojan quarterback, national champion and Heisman Award winner Matt Leinart said on FOX’s College Football pre-Holiday Bowl show. “The consistency isn’t there for the fanbase and the alumni, and they’re upset.”

The second ranked recruit in the class of 2019, weakside defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, is a nearby Thousand Oaks native who was widely considered a lock to join USC’s recruiting class, but he committed to Oregon. 

Likewise, fourth ranked 2020 recruit Justin Flowe, an inside linebacker from Upland, signed with Oregon on Dec. 18 — National Signing Day. 

Mater Dei quarterback Bryce Young, the top quarterback in the 2020 class and the fifth best player nationally, was a longtime USC commit before he flipped to Alabama on Sept. 22 — though the Trojans landed five-star 2021 quarterback Jake Garcia the next day.

Other offseason developments for USC include Harrell, who was recently extended by USC, interviewing for the Philadelphia Eagles’ open offensive coordinator position. However, per Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Harrell is expected to remain with the Trojans. 

USC also received some other good news this past week when redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Jay Tufele, redshirt sophomore offensive guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and redshirt junior wide receiver Tyler Vaughns announced they would all be returning for another year at USC instead of declaring for the NFL Draft. 

USC opens its 2020 season against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 5 in Arlington, Texas.