USC has perennially been a college football powerhouse, and one of the big reasons for that is its location. It can recruit from Southern California, and Southern California? It’s got a lot of really good high school football players! Like, so many good high school football players!
USC is a Power 5 school with a rich tradition, great infrastructure, a great location, and everything else a school could possibly want when it comes to recruiting.
Which makes it all the more stunning that, as of 11:30 ET on Early Signing Day, USC has the 76th best recruiting class in the country, per 24/7 Sports. They needed to land three-star DT Tuli Tuipulotu to move up to 76th, too — before that, they were slotted in at the 85th spot … just below Georgia State.
SEEMS BAD https://t.co/9RFVJLKvvt
— BUM CHILLUPS (@edsbs) December 18, 2019
To put it bluntly, USC is a mess. The school didn’t end up firing head coach Clay Helton this offseason, but there were rumors throughout the year that they were going to. With an unsettled AD — the school brought in outsider Mike Bohn this year — it’s unsurprising that many recruits were scared off by a team that seems so in flux. Why commit to a team where you’re pretty sure the coach won’t be there in a year?
Anyway, it’s a mess, and CFB fans and writers enjoyed it.
A surging USC has nearly passed Bowling Green pic.twitter.com/aYlQYY3bIC
— Banner Society (@BannerSociety) December 18, 2019
You really should be able to put together a top-20 recruiting class at USC without even trying. Just say "OK guys, let us know if you wanna play here. Cool." That USC is in the 70s should be impossible
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) December 18, 2019
What exactly is the best-case scenario for USC here?
does anyone think Clay Helton's going to be here in 3 years? https://t.co/WYXpqQ042V
— Ryan Connors (@RyanConnors_) December 18, 2019
Up to.
My God, what has happened. https://t.co/eXoq4htsI9
— [insert doppelganger here] (@NekiasNBA) December 18, 2019
Most of the teams in the recruiting top 25 our top 25 recruiters of the last decade
Florida State exemption in the high twenties is understandable
But oh my God, USC we are watching the fall of Rome.
it's like the staff gave up on recruiting expecting to be fired and didnt
— Dave Bartoo (@CFBMatrix) December 18, 2019
Notable schools with recruiting classes better than USC as of now on National Signing Day are Tulane, Toledo, Troy, Bowling Green, Miami Ohio, UMass, Northern Illinois and Georgia State. Things are not going well for Clay Helton
— travis (@travisparks24) December 18, 2019
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