Lincoln Riley Wraps Up Busy Recruiting Week in Southern California

Several USC coaches were on the road recruiting this past week ahead of the Trojans upcoming Junior Day, including Lincoln Riley, who visited several blue-chip prospects in Southern California.

Sep 13, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

USC made dramatic changes to its recruiting approach in the 2026 cycle, which included putting a much bigger emphasis on landing blue-chip prospects in Southern California. 

The Trojans will continue putting a high priority on prospects in their backyard in the 2027 cycle. USC coach Lincoln Riley visited a trio of highly touted local defensive backs this past week. 

Sep 13, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

The Trojans coach stopped by Damien (Calif.) to see four-star safety Gavin Williams early last week. Williams was at the Coliseum three times in the fall as USC continues to make a push to land the top 100 recruit. 

Riley visited Mater Dei (Calif.) four-star cornerback Danny Lang on Friday. Cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed has also visited the local prospect this month.

On3 reported Lang was on campus early last week. His former high school teammate, four-star cornerback Aaryn Washington, who transferred to IMG Academy (Fla.) this month, is the Trojans only commit in the 2027 cycle. 

USC signed four of Lang’s teammates in the 2026 cycle in five-star tight end Mark Bowman and four-star receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui and linebacker Shaun Scott. 

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Riley also made the trip down to San Diego to see Cathedral five-star safety Honor Fa’alave-Johnson on Friday, the No. 1 rated player at his position and No. 1 overall prospect in California, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings. 

Reed made a lengthy in-home visit with Gardena (Calif.) Serra four-star cornerback Duvay Williams last week. USC has made it clear each defensive back they visited last week is high on the priority list. Reed also visited Long Beach Poly (Calif.) four-star cornerback and Georgia commit Donte Wright during the week.  

Chad Bowden Visits St. John Bosco

USC Trojans general manager Chad Bowden hired from Notre Dame Fighting Irish | USC Trojans Video Youtube

USC general manager Chad Bowden was at St. John Bosco (Calif.) on Friday. He extended an offer to 2027 three-star linebacker Josiah Poyer. 

A name to remember down the line is 2029 Bosco receiver Kuika Moaalii. The 6-foot-5 freshman receiver picked up an offer from the Trojans as well. Moaalii already holds offers from numerous West Coast programs such as Washington, UCLA, Oregon, Arizona State, Oregon State and Arizona. 

USC signed three-star cornerback Joshua Holland from the prominent Trinity League school in the 2026 class. Cornerback Marcelles Williams comes from Bosco, as does Washington transfer linebacker Deven Bryant and defensive lineman Kobe Pepe, who just exhausted his eligibility last season. 

Other USC Recruiting News 

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

Lee County (Ga.) four-star receiver Jaden Upshaw included USC in his top six. Upshaw is a top 100 recruit and No. 12 receiver in the 247Sports Rankings for the 2027 cycle. 

American Fork (Utah) tight end Christian Hanshaw is not rated by 247Sports in the 2027 cycle but is seeing his recruitment take off. USC tight ends and inside receivers coach Chad Savage was in Utah late last week to offer Hanshaw a scholarship. 

Hanshaw also picked up an offer from UCLA and Oregon last week and received one from Tennessee earlier this month. He is now up to double digit offers, which includes school such as Washington, Utah, BYU and Michigan. 

USC running backs coach Anthony Jones was down in the Lone Star State and offered a pair of 2027 running backs in DeSoto (Texas) three-star SaRod Baker and Richland (Texas) three-star Jayshon Gibson.  

Baker comes from the same school as Trojans four-star receiver signee Boobie Feaster, the two focal points of DeSoto’s state championship run. Baker exploded in his junior year, with an eye-popping 3,096 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns. 2027 Pearland (Texas) four-star defensive lineman DeMarco Jenkins also picked up from USC.