USC football: Lincoln Riley calls Tackett Curtis the best linebacker in 2023 class

Curtis chose USC over Michigan, Ohio State and many other high profile programs

In an all encompassing interview with 247Sports.com's Steve Wiltfong, USC head coach Lincoln Riley had some high, high praise for freshman linebacker Tackett Curtis. Riley focused specifically on how big of a recruiting win it was to sign the Louisiana native in the 2023 cycle.

 “Getting Tackett was significant,” Riley said. “You go into Louisiana and by our evaluations land the top linebacker in the country, and there were other outstanding players but Tackett we thought was the best. We knew we’d only take one linebacker because we knew we'd go into the portal too and with our returning players, we knew we had to get that great young one, the guy you want, and if you were drafting the guy with the No. 1 pick, that’s what Tackett was for us."

Wow.

Curtis has enrolled at USC early and is participating in spring ball. Though he's only been on campus a few months, Curtis has already caught the attention of Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams, the unquestioned leader of USC's team.

"Tackett's my boy," Williams said after practice last month. "He's a hard worker who just goes at it every chance he gets."

Through double-digit spring practices, Riley has noticed the impact of Curtis too. 

"A guy you look at and I think we have several, he’s one of the guys no question one of the future leaders of the defense at USC," Riley said. "He certainly backed that up this spring. Certainly not perfect and learning a lot and guys have to go do it on Saturdays, but I can’t think of a more impactful linebacker that's been here their first spring and been as impactful as he has been."

Curtis ended up as the No. 9 linebacker in the nation in 247Sports.com's class of 2023 rankings. He chose USC over Michigan, Ohio State and many other high profile programs. 

He'll certainly be a player to watch on Saturday during the Trojans' spring game...