USC football: Nation's No. 1 recruit discusses state of Trojans' program, USC interest
Lincoln Riley has coached three Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks, which is more than any other coach in college football history. That fact sets him apart on the recruiting trail and it's why the Trojans will almost always have a shot with every high profile quarterback prospect that Riley offers.
In the last seven days, two big time high school QB's have made headlines discussing USC. Last weekend, elite 2026 Georgia quarterback Julian Lewis was offered a scholarship by Riley after visiting USC's campus and he detailed his visit in an interview with 247Sports.com.
During Tuesday's College Football Recruiting Show, 247Sports.com analyst Blair Angulo broke down 2024 Arizona quarterback Dylan Raiola's top schools, which included a clip of Raiola talking about USC.
The No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 class said of the Trojans: "Knowing Lincoln Riley, his track record speaks for itself. Obviously all of the Heisman guys, he's won three of them. It's crazy. The offense he runs, he develops people and just how he gets playmakers the ball, from a quarterback and play calling standpoint, it's definitely cool to see. I definitely want to get back out there soon."
Raiola's other top schools include Georgia, Nebraska and Oregon. As a junior at Chandler High School in Arizona, Raiola completed 64% of his passes for 2,435 yards and 22 touchdowns last season. Raiola de-committed from Ohio State in December.
USC quarterback Caleb Williams, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, will be back for his junior season in 2023. Williams' heir apparent is Malachi Nelson, a 5-star signee in USC's 2023 class.
Who will be USC's QB after that? Who knows. But here's a prediction — it will be another 5-star prospect just like Williams and Nelson, because as history tells us, that's just how Riley rolls.
