On paper, last February, it probably would’ve seemed like a pipe dream: The top high school football prospect in the nation. Nine of the top 20 players in California. An entire operation, modernized and organized, rebuilt and rebranded, all over the course of an entirely virtual recruiting cycle.
When its lofty plans to rewrite recruiting wrongs were drawn at this time last year, USC had bottomed out, missing on all of its top targets, falling to 64th in the national rankings. A disappointing class finished with a whimper on national signing day, when USC inked just one prospect, tight end Jack Yary, who would never play a down for the Trojans.