National Analyst's Bold Claim About USC Trojans, Lincoln Riley Amid Recruiting Success

The USC Trojans have gotten off on the right foot in recruiting for the class of 2026. 247Sports has the Trojans with the No. 1 recruiting class for 2026. The Trojans took the top spot over the weekend after flipping four-star quarterback Jonas Williams from Oregon to USC.

Coach Lincoln Riley has been under heavy fire from college football fans and pundits over the last two years. The Trojans have struggled with back to back seasons of five or more losses in the regular season. They look to flip that trend in 2025.

College football personality Josh Pate is very high on the future of the Trojans program.

Josh Pate On USC Trojans: "The Right People Are In the Building"

Jul 25, 2019; Richmond, VA, USA; Washington Redskins inside linebackers coach Rob Ryan walks onto the field prior to practice on day one of training camp at Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Josh Pate has been critical of the USC Trojans football program in recent years, but Pate is changing his tune this offseason on their outlook.

“There’s some stuff happening inside that program (USC) that’s real, it’s tangible, it’s not smoke and mirrors, it’s not acting, it’s not performative, its not winning a spring national championship game,” Pate said. “The right people are in the building. That’s really what matters.”

The Trojans have made a big moves this offseason. They named Chad Bowden as their football general manager. This is a step in right direction and can dramatically improve the roster building of the team in this new era of college football

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USC was able to hold on to defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who in his first year with the Trojans in 2024, was able to immediately turn one of the worst defenses in the country into a solid unit.

USC also hired veteran NFL defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan, as an assistant coach for the defense and linebackers.

What Went Wrong For Lincoln Riley and USC Trojans in 2023 and 2024 Seasons?

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley leaves the field after the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Pate dove into what went wrong for Lincoln Riley and USC the past few seasons. He cited a couple different issues that were Riley's fault and also issues that were out of his control.

“Lincoln Riley had a couple of things happen to him at USC; one was his fault and one wasn’t,” Pate said. “He handcuffed himself to a losing defensive staff.…That’s his fault…The second thing a little out of his control is I think administratively he was handcuffed. College football changed overnight (With transfer portal, NIL, etc), but not every program adjusted overnight.”

Now, Riley has improved his defensive staff and the administration at USC is modernizing the way they run the program. This is a good sign moving forward.

“I do believe that some very special things are around corner at USC,” Pate said. “I believe in the future of the program, more than I did this time a year ago.”