USC Trojans Emerge as Winners of National Signing Day

The USC Trojans did not add any high school recruits during the second National Signing Day on Wednesday, Feb. 4 but why are they still considered winners.

Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley before an NCAA football game with the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Despite not signing any high school recruits during the second National Signing Day, USC is one of the biggest winners because they still own the No. 1 ranked class according to every recruiting outlet. 

USC signed 35 recruits back in December, 32 of which have already enrolled on campus and taking part in winter workouts and then spring practice starting next month. 

Finishing Strong in Recruiting in the Fall

Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley before an NCAA football game with the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

With the Trojans landing a majority of its recruiting class before official visit season started in late May, USC zeroed in on five out of state recruits in the summer in Hun School (N.J.) five-star edge Luke Wafle, Kahuku (Hawaii) four-star linebacker Talanoa Ili, DeSoto (Texas) four-star receiver Boobie Feaster, IMG Academy (Fla.) four-star IOL Breck Kolojay and Tyne Academy (Tenn.) four-star cornerback Peyton Dyer.

The Trojans landed all four and strengthened a class that was already sitting atop the recruiting rankings. 

With front loaded NIL collectives, recruits began receiving portions of their NIL collectives during the season. And Bowden implemented a rule that once a player is committed, they weren’t allowed to visit other schools. It was a necessary considering how their 2025 class began to fall apart in the weeks leading up to the early signing period. 

Outside of a completely disastrous season, the chances of USC’s recruiting class falling apart was very thin. 

Bowden spoke with them as a group on a weekly basis. There was a group chat that had every commit in it and a few staff members. They specifically talked after games and sometimes many of them would FaceTime. 

The signees embraced the opportunities to grow closer as a group. They were frequent visitors on campus for spring practice, took part in the Trojans summer camps to work out in front of the coaching staff and every home game was event just because they were together.

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Four-star IOL Esun Tafa stayed with four-star defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui family during his last visit to Los Angeles in the fall, which speaks to the bond between those two and the freshman class as a whole.

And because they had a majority of its class put together in the fall, the Trojans focused on putting the finishing touches on its recruiting class in the fall. 

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

Three-star cornerback Jayden Crowder visited USC on Oct. 11 to watch them play Michigan and picked up an offer from Southern Cal that weekend. He would later flip his commitment from Cal later that month. Four-star Josiah Jefferson, the No. 1 ranked JUCO tight end was on campus for the same game and would also end up flipping his commitment from Utah that month. 

Oregon was the school heavily mentioned as the school that could potentially flip Ohio State four-star receiver commit Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. However it was USC working behind the scenes and landed the Mater Dei product during the first National Signing Day. 

Instead of making a late push for high school recruits in mid-December to early February, the Trojans wrapped up its class in early December and then added nine players via the transfer portal last month to fill out their roster. 

Early Impact Players 

DeSoto's Ethan Feaster warms up after halftime during Friday's game at the Alamodome on Sept. 13, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. | Angela Piazza/Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It all starts on the defensive line with Wafle and five-star defensive lineman Jaimeon Winfield. USC has lost defensive line coach Eric Henderson, who is headed back to professional ranks and join the Washington Commanders staff. 

The next hire makes it that much more important because they are players expected to have an important role in the fall. Their development is massive this spring. 

Five-star tight end Mark Bowman is a plug-and-play player. Bowman is an athletic freak with a great blend of size and speed. 

Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane are gone and in comes six receivers from the 2026 class, headlined by Feaster, Dixon-Wyatt and Trent Mosley, the MaxPreps California Player of the Year. It’s an stellar group of pass-catchers that can become incredibly valuable for quarterback Jayden Maiava from day one. 

USC returns all five starters on the offensive line but that won’t stop five-star offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe, Tafa and Kolojay from pushing those guys. They will provide valuable depth, as will four-stars Deshonne Redeaux and Shahn Alston at running back. 

Names to keep an eye on defense, include Ili, Topui, Dyer and four-star Elbert Hill, the No. 1 ranked cornerback according to ESPN.