USC Trojans Coaches Dominating Best Recruiter Rankings

The USC Trojans and coach Lincoln Riley have been on a heater when it comes to recruiting. USC currently has the No. 1 ranked 2026 recruiting class. USC defensive line coach Eric Henderson, secondary coach Doug Belk, and tight ends coach Zach Hanson all rank in the top four of 247Sports’s 2026 Football Recruiter Rankings.

USC Trojans Boast Three of Top Four 2026 Recruiters

Nov 11, 2023; Eugene, Oregon, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley signals to the offense during the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

USC Trojans defensive line coach Eric Henderson his ranked as the No. 1 2026 recruiter. Henderson has the commits from eight different players on the defensive front; five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin, four-star defensive lineman Jaime Winfield, four-star defensive lineman Simote Katoanga, four-star defensive lineman Braeden Jones, three-star defensive lineman Jake Johnson, three-star edge rusher Andrew Williams, and three-star defensive lineman Malik Brooks.

The No. 2 ranked class of 2026 recruiter is LSU Tigers co-offensive coordinator Cortez Hankton. Right behind him at No. 3 is USC Trojans secondary coach Doug Belk. Belk has four 2026 recruits in his defensive backfield in four-star cornerback RJ Sermons, four-star cornerback Brandon Lockhart, three-star cornerback Joshua Holland, and cornerback Madden Riordan.

Behind Belk at No. 4 is USC Trojans tight ends coach Zach Hanson. Hanson has big a part of bringing in high end talent for the Trojans up front on offense with four-star offensive tackle Kenya Pepe, four-star interior offensive lineman Esun Tafa, three-star Kannon Smith, three-star interior offensive lineman John Fifita, and offensive tackle Chase Deniz.

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USC Trojans Class of 2026

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

The USC Trojans have a star-studded class of 2026 recruiting class. Ranked as the No. 1 class in the country on 247Sports, USC has already had a whopping 25 players commit. This is by far more than any other program. The next closest team to having the amount of commits that USC has is the Clemson Tigers with 14.

USC is now up to 25 commitments. No other team nationally has more than 14. pic.twitter.com/s4IYaN3wJs
— Adam Gorney (@adamgorney) May 1, 2025

Just looking at the Big Ten conference specifically, the team closest to USC in terms of class of 2026 players committed are the Penn State Nittany Lions with 13. Ohio State is right behind with 11 commitments. The Buckeyes also have an average star rating of 4. USC's average star rating is 3.64 while Penn State's is 3.46.

This is a great sign moving forward for USC. Things haven't exactly been easy on or off the field for the Trojans the past two seasons. USC has failed to win more than seven regular season games in 2023 and 2024. Then on the recruiting side of things for the 2024 and 2025 classes, they did not crack the top 15 according to 247Sports's rankings.

USC made a handful of big moves this offseason, but none may have been bigger than hiring Chad Bowden as general manager. Having a general manager is becoming a necessity in this new era of college football and it's already paying off for USC.