Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Can USC salvage its 2020 recruiting class?
USC is struggling off the field even more so than on. The Trojans recently lost QB Bryce Young to Alabama and have just one consensus 4-star prospect among 11 commits. With a little more than two months until Early Signing Day, they're staring down their lowest-rated recruiting class this century.
Can the class be saved?
We spoke with longtime West recruiting analyst Blair Angulo of 247Sports.com about what USC could do to spur its recruiting efforts, including making a certain coaching change.
Is there any scenario in which USC keeps Clay Helton and turns around this recruiting class?
Blair Angulo: “Yeah, I think so. If they are able to keep Helton it means that they succeeded on the field, right? Which would mean that they reached the Pac-12 Championship Game, which means they likely won a Pac-12 Championship Game. And that does sell a sign of hope in recruiting and that will solidify maybe some of these recruits or lure some guys in state or in the region that were leaving elsewhere. If this program is to win a Pac-12 title. I mean, there's still that possibility, and let's not downplay the effect that Clay Helton has as a recruiter. He's a very personable coach, he does have an impact in recruits’ homes and when they go on campus for visits. Every recruit that I speak to talks about his character and the type of person he is and the impact he has with families.
“So, yeah, I do feel like they do have a chance. It might not be a big chance or a great chance. But never discount the power of USC and never discount their ability to recruit and their ability to close. You talk about the roster that they have now, they wouldn't have gotten that roster if Clay Helton didn't know what he was doing from a recruiting standpoint. He and his staff do a good job of closing and they do a good job of selling hope, so if they keep him that means there is a bit of hope within the program, within the athletic department, and I think that would translate in a way to recruiting.”
There are some notable California prospects either committed elsewhere or leaning elsewhere. Who do you suspect would be in play if USC hired, say, Urban Meyer?
Angulo: "Justin Flowe, right now, I think would be the one that sticks out to me the most. A lot of people believe he's headed to Clemson, myself included. I feel like that's where he ends up, along with DJ Uiagalelei. But I think a guy like Justin Flowe would probably be the guy that I could see being swayed the most to stay close to home, play for a coach like Urban, who has in the past developed some pretty top-tier linebackers, whether that was at Florida or what he did at Ohio State. That's a big-splash hire that I think attracts a lot of recruits. Kendall Milton is another one, obviously. A running back that's committed to Georgia but always talked about USC being a dream school. With Clay Helton that might not be the dream scenario, but with Urban Meyer it very well could be. You talk about what he did with Zeke Elliott over at Ohio State. I know he had some really good running backs and a running attack over at Florida. So that would be another one that I think USC fans could be on the lookout for. Uncommitted, Gary Bryant, I still feel like he could be a USC guy with Urban Meyer at the helm. I know there's been some other schools gaining some buzz with him. I think just the whole landscape would change.
"With maybe some of the quarterbacks, DJ and Bryce [Young], that might be too far ahead for those guys. And I don't know if a coaching change is as impactful for a quarterback as it would be kind of just the situation in that quarterback room. DJ only has to sit a year behind Trevor Lawrence. Bryce would go into a situation at Bama where he could be the guy after Tua [Tagovailoa]. He'd have to battle against Taulia [Tagovailoa]. Urban Meyer comes but JT’s still there, Kedon Slovis obviously showed that he could be a serious player for USC for years to come. So quarterbacks probably look at it a little bit differently than maybe a position player would.
"Elias Ricks is always in play. He is obviously a local guy that is out playing in Florida now at IMG Academy. I believe he’s supposed to move out to LSU soon, so he would have to evaluate where USC is and what the future holds for USC under an Urban Meyer. This is a player that also has Ohio State high on his list and has had them for a long time. So he’s familiar with Urban, he’s familiar with what he would bring to ‘SC. I definitely think that would give him an opportunity to just think about things. And then there's playing time available at the cornerback spot. USC obviously has some young guys at the position, but Elias is talented enough to be a Day 1 starter at any college. So, yeah, he could definitely be a guy that maybe USC looks toward and vice versa, if there is a move there.”
When would be the latest point USC could make a coaching change and it still have a notable impact on the 2020 class?
Angulo: "Probably that Pac-12 Championship Game weekend, the first Friday of December. That would give them about a week and a half or so until the early signing period. And in recruiting that is like a year a half, especially with a splash like that. If they were to make a splash hire, we mentioned Urban Meyer, and if that's the one, he would have about a week and a half until the early signing period, at the very least, I feel like Urban would get the courtesy visit. They’d get some of these top-tier recruits to at least go and take a look at USC. And then they would have two weekends of official visits remaining until that early signing period. Anything could happen on those. If they're able to identify some of the guys that Urban wants, if he does want to coach still, I feel like USC would have to move before that early signing period.”
Assuming that Bryce Young doesn't flip flop, which 2020 quarterbacks could you see signing with USC?
Angulo: "I think C.J. Stroud is probably the one that comes to mind. Just because he's uncommitted. I know Ohio State has some some of the buzz, we keep mentioning Ohio State. He took an unofficial visit out there this last weekend. But he's a local kid, a four-star quarterback from Rancho Cucamonga, he would be in play. I think USC would make a strong push for him. Other than that, there's not a lot out there. And I think that Kedon’s emergence has affected the perception of it, in a way. And also Bryce leaves them at a really difficult time, when a lot of the quarterbacks have already come off the board. And not a lot of them are jumping at that opportunity. And I think they're good with Jake Garcia in that 2021 class. Would they just skip out on 2020 and then take two in 2021? I know they’re really high on Miller Moss as well, who grew up a USC fan. So that's another possibility, that they’re staggering. Obviously JT is redshirting, so they’ve already staggered that class, along with Kedon, both being sophomores next season. And then they could add two in the 2021 class, that helps things in terms of depth. By not offering Stroud, it signals that they maybe have someone else in mind for 2020 that might not be local. Or they are strongly considering taking two in 2021 and already got Jake Garcia, so they could possibly go and make a move for another junior in that class.”
Much has been made about so many of the top recruits in the West signing outside the region in recent years. Do you think that's a USC problem long-term or more of a Pac-12 problem?
Angulo: "Well, I think you answered the question there. USC is the Pac- 12, when USC is USC. USC is (currently) not shouldering the load for the conference. So when USC is down, especially in recruiting, and it's not in the national conversation, it's going to be tough for some of these other players to say, Oh, well if I'm not going to USC, I'm going to go up to Washington or Oregon. And those two schools are recruiting at a pretty good level. But that's the level they should recruit at. USC’s the one that's not keeping these guys home. There isn't as much talent in the Seattle area or the Portland area. So naturally, those two schools in the Pac-12 North are always recruiting the L.A. area. But when the top players in Southern California or even in state are going away to the top teams in the country -- we're talking Ohio State with Clark Phillips and Jermaine Burton to LSU and Bryce Young to ‘Bama and DJ to Clemson and Kendall Milton to Georgia, and the list goes on and on. When USC isn't winning those battles, it is a reflection on just their inability to do things on the field and sell promise. And I think it affects the Pac-12 as a whole, the whole perception of the Pac-12 is changed by USC not being where a lot of people want them to be and where a lot of recruits expect them to be.
"USC needs to be winning these games for the Pac-12 to be winning recruiting battles. Because USC would be winning some of these in-state battles. USC is getting some of these commitments from the state of Nevada, from Arizona, that trickles down. So those players would no longer be going to USC, they’d be going to the Stanfords and the Cals and the Colorados and the Utahs. All those players would still be staying in the region. They’d still be staying out West, they’d still be playing in the Pac-12. USC losing those guys to Ohio State and Georgia and Clemson, those schools aren’t beating the Arizona States or the UCLAs for those recruits. USC needs to win because they’re basically the only chance the Pac-12 has to hang onto some of these big players.”