USC's Failure to Secure Local Talent Raises Concerns Over Resurgence

The month of July has not been kind to your USC Trojans. After being in the top five of the 2024 recruiting class earlier this year, they have fallen to the number nine spot, according to 247Sports.

This is not a pretty picture for the Trojans as they have high hopes of contending for a national championship under head coach Lincoln Riley for years.

This has many USC fans and college football pundits questioning whether USC is genuinely back, especially after they lost St. John Bosco four-star linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asato to their rivals in Norte Dame.

One of the experts who is now doubting the Trojans is Donovan James of Trojans Wire, as he now questions whether the program is back to where we all know it can be.

The 102nd-ranked prospect in 247Sports’ composite rankings and No. 3 inside linebacker in the 2024 class was a big loss for USC. It shows that the Trojans’ recruitng staff has a lot to improve on in the upcoming year and beyond.

The culture and product at USC

are almost back

, but won’t quite be fully back until the program starts nailing top recruits on a more regular basis, especially local guys like KVA, who is from Bellflower (Calif.)

(via Trojans Wire)

Ultimately, it is up to the kid on where they want to go, but at the same time, it's on USC to keep their kids around.

Losing them out of state sucks, but losing them to a rival school like Norte Dame stings even more. Although Viliamu-Asa is a four-star recruit, USc has yet to gain a five-star recruit, which is another major reason why they have yet to climb up the rankings.

Five out of the eight-team in front of USC have five-star recruits, including future Big 10 opponent, Ohio State Buckeyes.

This is not the end of the world for the Trojans, but they must fix it to get back in the conversation and to finally be 'back back.'

We'll see how the Trojans respond in the coming weeks. Remember, it doesn't happen overnight. So what, what now.