USC football fans are not happy with the Trojans’ larger NIL setup. USC has lost some five-star commitments because players who expected a certain level of investment from the program became less convinced that the Trojans would be able to provide what they wanted and hoped for. We can speculate on exactly what that is or was, but it’s hard to think that the NIL operation didn’t have something to do with the decisions of players to decommit just three months after making a commitment to Lincoln Riley and USC. You might think Lincoln Riley is upset with the NIL reality at USC. Inwardly, perhaps he might be. We don’t know what he really thinks. Publicly, however, Riley is still professing satisfaction with the status of USC’s NIL program. Steve Wiltfong of On3 Sports got more from Riley at Big Ten media days:
“But yeah, the roster just continues to get better and better. It does. NIL continues to get better and better. Our staff continues to get better and better. New facilities coming. Like, it can’t ever get here soon enough, but the momentum is undeniable; the progress is undeniable from what we took over two years ago. We’re just going to keep stacking these classes on top.”
Riley then said more about NIL at USC:
“We took over something two years ago where there was no NIL,” Riley said. “People have got to understand that our starting point was zero, was nothing. To have to rebuild that, to have to get that started has been a big undertaking. But I would venture to guess that we’ve had just as much growth in NIL over the past 12 months or more than maybe any. program in college football. Like any part of our program — is anything exactly where we want it to be right now today? No.
“But the things are in place and they’re taking hold and they’re growing, and we’re gaining on it. And we’re not going to slow down.”
Regardless of what Riley says publicly, however, what matters is that USC deliver results. The Trojans probably need to have a strong 2024 season on the field if they want to change some recruits’ minds for the 2025 cycle in December.
Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.
Check out more NFL draft coverage with the USA TODAY Sports NFL Draft Hub.