USC’s recruiting woes are detailed in a recent report from 247Sports which looked at blue-chip signees for the 2024 cycle. Blue-chip prospects are defined as four- and five-star recruits, anyone higher than a three-star player.
We already noted that Oregon and its current coach, Dan Lanning, have nine more blue-chippers than USC, 17 to 8.
Miami and Mario Cristobal have seven more blue-chippers than USC. The Hurricanes have pulled in 15 blue-chip players thus far, according to 247.
Mario Cristobal outrecruited USC when he was at Oregon, but that could easily be connected to the fact that Clay Helton was coaching at USC and dragging down the Trojans’ overall recruiting numbers. The fact that Cristobal has seven more blue-chippers than Lincoln Riley as of Christmas Day in the 2024 recruiting cycle is a sign that whatever USC is doing in the NIL space, it isn’t nearly enough. Miami has some elite money-men who can hand out a big bag to recruits. USC lacks that firepower right now, and it’s something the Trojans have to address in the near future.
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