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Lincoln Riley watches Georgia high school football game featuring 5-star recruit, elite quarterback

USC's coach was recruiting in Georgia on Friday night
Andrew Nemec|
USC football coach Lincoln Riley has proven to be a coast-to-coast recruiter.
USC football coach Lincoln Riley has proven to be a coast-to-coast recruiter. | Photo: Dennis Lee

College football coaches frequently use their bye weeks to check in on recruits, so seeing USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley on the sidelines of a high school game Friday night wasn't a surprise.

But perhaps it was eyebrow-raising to see him so far away from home.

On Friday night, Riley was spotted at a Georgia high school football game between Carrollton and Gainesville, a content with obvious ties to the Trojans.

Not only are both teams loaded with talent, but the rosters also feature three current USC commits - Carrollton quarterback Julian Lewis and cornerback Shamar Arnoux and 2026 Gainesville five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin.

From there, Riley was then seen at Buford vs. Douglas County, another contest featuring top recruiting talent:

Riley is probably right to spend the extra attention on his Georgia pledges.

In the class of 2025, USC secured verbal commitments from a pair of five-star defensive lineman - Manchester's Justus Terry and Warner Robins' Isaiah Gibson - who later decommitted.

Riley would love to end the "Georgia decommitment" streak at two, and hang on to Lewis, Arnoux and Griffin.

On Friday night, he was able to check in with all three in one spot and clearly didn't miss that opportunity.

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Andrew Nemec
ANDREW NEMEC

Andrew Nemec covers national high school recruiting and brings more than a decade of experience. Andrew hosts "Recruiting with Andrew Nemec" on ESPN-affiliate 1080 The FAN in Portland, Oregon. He holds a journalism degree from the University of Oregon.

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