USC football recruiting reset: Where do the Trojans stand with the Class of 2025?
LOS ANGELES — USC is simply not having the season it wanted. At 4-5, the best the Trojans can hope for is to match last year's 8-5 record with three wins to close the regular season and a victory in a bowl game.
Not all progress is linear, but USC is stuck in the mud right now. One way to get out of the mess is through recruiting. Better players elevate the talent level and increase the margin for error. As the Trojans are finding out this year, there's a thin margin between wins and losses.
Lincoln Riley's first two full classes (No. 8 in 2023, No. 17 in 2024) were good but not elite, which is why the 2025 cycle is so significant. USC clearly needs more talent. It's losing games to mediocre (or worse) teams and a gap between the Trojans and the sport's top programs will only get wider if more high-end talent isn't signed.
So with the early signing period now less than a month away, let's take stock of USC's 2025 recruiting class.
Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.
USC's recruiting class was in a delicate position back in June when the Trojans lost commitments from two five-star defensive linemen, Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson, as well as top-100 safety prospect Hylton Stubbs.
Those were significant losses, but the Trojans rallied and landed some notable players such as four-star wideout and top-50 national prospect Jerome Myles, blue-chip offensive lineman Aaron Dunn and fringe top-100 linebacker Ty Jackson. The class is now ranked ninth nationally.
But with USC's season going south over the past month, it can't help but feel like this class is in a delicate, potentially fragile state yet again.
There's one five-star prospect among the Trojans' commitments — quarterback Julian Lewis. Lewis has been committed to USC for more than a year but continues to listen to overtures from Indiana and Colorado. He visited Colorado a few weeks ago for the Buffaloes' victory over Cincinnati .
Colorado is making a push for the Trojans' four-star offensive line commit Carde Smith as well. Lewis is from Georgia. Smith is from Alabama.
USC's 2025 class is built primarily with out-of-state prospects. Only four of the Trojans' 23 commitments are from California.
Taking a national approach to recruiting is fine, but there's an inherent risk that comes with that. Out-of-state players don't have the same ties to the program and there are going to be a lot of people in their ear if things go poorly on the field.
Can USC weather the storm over this next month or will the on-field regression spill onto the recruiting trail?
The Trojans desperately need to upgrade their talent on the offensive and defensive lines, and it doesn't feel like they're addressing that sufficiently enough in this cycle.
Sure, USC has four O-line and three D-line commitments but only three of those seven are blue-chip prospects. Riley needs more players who could potentially contribute in their first or second year.
The Trojans have signed too many three-star projects along the offensive line in recent classes and have needed them to play early in their careers too often. The results are what you would expect — a lot of growing pains.
Dunn, who ranks No. 191 nationally, is a good get, but the only other blue-chip offensive line commit is Smith, who is flirting with Colorado.
USC just doesn't have enough game-changing talent on its defensive line. The Trojans are tied for 102nd nationally with just 13 sacks, and only 5.5 sacks have come from the defensive line.
Four-star Hayden Lowe, a top-200 national prospect who plays for Oaks Christian in Westlake Village, Calif., is the only blue-chip D-lineman in the class.
That's not going to cut it.
The outlook at quarterback for 2025 is cloudy right now. Miller Moss was just benched, which casts serious doubt upon his future with the program. Jayden Maiava , a UNLV transfer, is now the starter and has three games to assert himself as the favorite for the job next season.
If he doesn't play well, that leaves the conversation open for Lewis to come in and play right away. That means the Trojans actually have to hang on to Lewis, who has publicly solidified his commitment despite his open interest in other programs.
The coaching staff, particularly quarterbacks coach Luke Huard, has displayed interest in Husan Longstreet, a five-star prospect from Corona (Calif.) Centennial who is committed to Texas A&M. We'll see if USC can make any sort of late push and if Longstreet would actually change his mind.
The Trojans will be an interesting team to watch when it comes to quarterback recruiting. Of course, they could always be active in the transfer portal when the window opens a month from now.
USC's linebacker class looks strong. Position coach Matt Entz has done a solid job on the trail and has landed commitments from three four-star prospects: Matai Tagoa'i (No. 90 nationally), Jackson (No. 105), and Jadon Perlotte (No. 252).
Tagoa'i is crucial because he's a Southern California product who plays for San Clemente High School. He remained committed during the shaky stretch in June.
Entz's top uncommitted target is Madden Faraimo of JSerra in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Faraimo is ranked No. 61 nationally and has Notre Dame and others in pursuit.
One concern with this linebacker group: Tagoa'i is listed at 190 pounds, Jackson at 200 and Perlotte at 202. Yes, they could develop quickly but that weight would seemingly make each of them a longshot to play the position in 2025.
This should be a good receiver class. Myles is obviously the headliner, but Corey Simms, Romero Ison and Tanook Hines are all four-star prospects as well.
The coaching staff signed just one receiver last year. Two cycles ago, the Trojans signed Zachariah Branch , Duce Robinson , Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane . Those are USC's top receivers now, but they'll all be juniors next year so the staff has to build up the position group for the future.
USC's average player rating stands at 90.93. That's not bad, but it's just the 16th-best in the country. Oregon, Ohio State and Michigan are Big Ten programs that rank ahead of the Trojans.
There are only three top-100 prospects in USC's class. Whenever the program loses a recruiting battle, some fans rush to blame NIL. The fact is the Trojans need to give high-end prospects a reason to sign with them. Over the past two years, it's been difficult to pinpoint many.
That's something Riley and his staff have to change.
(Top photo of Lincoln Riley: Alika Jenner / )
