National Analyst J.D. PicKell Opens Up About USC's Recruiting Strategy in California

USC landed a massive commitment recently in San Diego (Calif.) Cathedral Catholic five-star athlete Honor Fa’alave-Johnson to bolster its 2027 recruiting class.

The Trojans are continuing to put an emphasis on recruiting Southern California with this current class as they did with their No. 1 ranked class in the 2026 cycle. In an exclusive interview, On3 college football analyst J.D. PicKell discussed what it could mean for USC's future.

Building a Fence Around the State

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Chad Bowden Recruiting Class Southern California Mater Dei Spring Practice Honor Fa'alave-Johnson — Dec 30, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches in the first half against the TCU Horned Frogs during the Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC is in the heart of a recruiting hotbed that draws some of the top programs in college football from across the country to their backyard every cycle.

And for the better part of the last decade, the Trojans were constantly being out recruited and struggled to land elite in-state talent. And in many cases, Southern Cal wasn’t even in the picture for some highly touted recruits in the state. They watched those prospects go elevate other schools and become top picks in the NFL Draft.

But last offseason, USC made some major moves to change its recruiting fortunes. It started with the hiring of general manager Chad Bowden, and a revamped front office with key personnel such as assistant general manager Dre Brown, executive director of player personnel Max Stienecker, assistant athletic director of recruiting operations Zaire Turner and director of recruiting Weston Zernechel.

The Trojans hired new assistant coaches to improve on-field player development and local recruiting efforts in inside receivers/tight ends coach Chad Savage and cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed. Two coaches that are great at building genuine relationships with recruits.

“There’s a handful of states where if you put a fence around your territory, you should at a floor level be a playoff team,” PicKell said. “At a ceiling level, if you’re truly owning that state, you could probably compete for a national championship. We know it’s Florida, Texas, Georgia has become a part of that conversation. If USC locks up California, they’re going to be a consistent playoff team. If they stack class over class, there’s too much talent in that state to not be elite.”

In total, USC signed 20 players from California in 2026, 16 of which are within a 70-mile radius of campus and two are from the San Diego County. That doesn’t include offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe, who is originally from Long Beach, but played his high school football at IMG Academy (Fla.) and linebacker Talanoa Ili, who previously starred at Orange Lutheran (Calif.) before playing his senior season in Hawaii.

USC has a storied history when it comes to great Polynesian players. The Trojans' director of high school recruiting relations Aaron Amaama, also known as Coach Dogg, was vital in bringing in the next generation of Polynesian players from Southern California to USC in Pepe, Ili, defensive end Simote Katoanga and defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui. Coach Dogg was also the driving force in the Trojans landing Fa’alave-Johnson.

Re-Building Recruiting Pipelines

With Bowden leading the charge, USC rebuilt pipelines with premier high schools in their backyard. Freshman cornerback Brandon Lockhart, receiver Tron Baker and defensive back Madden Riordan were the first three commits in 2026, and all come from Sierra Canyon (Calif.). Running back Deshonne Redeaux comes from Oaks Christian (Calif.)

Mater Dei (Calif.) is a national powerhouse that is littered with elite Power Four talent. And after not signing a player from the local school since 2022, coach Lincoln Riley’s first recruiting class, they signed four in 2026 in Topui, tight end Mark Bowman, receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and linebacker Shaun Scott.

Four-star cornerback Aaryn Washington was the Trojans first commit in the 2027 class. He previously played at Mater Dei before transferring to IMG in January. And the Trojans are trending for another Mater Dei blue-chip cornerback in four-star Danny Lang, who is set to announce his commitment on Wednesday, March 25.

“If they reassure that pipeline between them and the Trinity League, Mater Dei in general, how many more wins is that worth,” PicKell said.

USC has three freshmen from Trinity League power Santa Margarita (Calif.), who won the Open Division state championship last fall, the highest division in California, in Katoanga, receiver Trent Mosley, and cornerback Jayden Crowder. USC landed a commitment from Santa Margarita 2027 three-star defensive lineman Isaia Vandermade in February. They are coached by former USC Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Carson Palmer.

That same month, USC landed a pair of 2027 receivers that come from great programs in Southern California in Corona Centennial (Calif.) four-star Quentin Hale and Chaparral (Calif.) four-star Eli Woodard. Hale, a top 50 overall prospect and Woodard, a top 200 prospect, will be key cornerstones in the 2027 class.

“What’s interesting with them starting to get more of their juice back in Southern California again is these kids talk," PicKell said. "Getting momentum especially in Southern California really matters. That roles over from year to year.“

The Trojans 2026 class grew up playing with and against each other in youth football. Freshman cornerback Joshua Holland, Mosley, Crowder, Riordan and Ili played together for the O.C. Buckeyes, aka Juice County. Topui and Baker played for the IE/OG Ducks. And then over the course of the past four years, the Trojans local freshman class battled in high school regular season and playoff games. They would train together in the offseason and competed in 7v7 tournaments and other camps.

Now, similar to what it looked like during the Pete Carroll era in the 2000s, where USC established themselves as one of the premier teams in college football or briefly in the mid 2010s, where they won a conference championship and made it to back-to-back New Years Six Bowls, local recruits decided to join forces at Southern Cal, instead of branching off to other schools.

“You see each other everywhere. It’s impossible for that not be a conversation," PicKell said. "Knowing a school has been in a certain place before in terms of success and then believing that you and your boys in the surrounding area can go get it done.”

Effect on Future Recruiting Classes

USC is starting to see the effect of recruiting Southern California heavily for the 2026 class has on the 2027 class. But seeing a wave of local recruits on the Trojans roster has also caught the attention of prospects in the 2028 cycle.

When recruits from the 2027 and 2028 class visit campus, it gives them an opportunity to link up again with players they grew up playing with or just know each from being the same area and ask them genuinely about the program. And the idea of teaming up together has become very intriguing.

“I think it gets lost how much of a communal thing the USC deal is," PicKell said. "If USC gets active again and when it gets rolling there’s a different level because it’s LA, it’s not far from Orange County and there’s so much buy in there.”

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