Lincoln Riley: USC's move to Big Ten 'becoming more of a factor' in recruiting

The Trojans' success on the recruiting trail has definitely been impacted by their impending move to the Big Ten, according to Riley

With five-star tight end Duce Robinson signed, USC finished the 2023 recruiting cycle as the No. 1 team in the Pac-12 and No. 8 nationally. 

In an interview with Steve Wiltfong, 247Sports.com's Director of Recruiting, USC head coach Lincoln Riley said the Trojans' success on the recruiting trail was definitely impacted by their impending move to the Big Ten.

“I think it was a factor, I think it’s becoming more and more of a factor," he said. "Two-fold, recruits and families starting to see the advantage of schools going to be in these two leagues that are going to be a little different than the other leagues in terms of the Big Ten and SEC moving forward. I think they’re seeing those advantages. When looking at these schools not in these leagues, natural questions come up about the future. I think for us to be in one of the two big leagues going forward and the matchups it’s going to create is so, so significant."

USC will join the Big Ten ahead of the 2024 college football season along with Pac-12 rival UCLA. With the Big Ten and SEC both signing massive media rights deals that will begin in 2023 and 2024 respectively, the gap has significantly widened between those two conferences and the rest of the college football leagues. 

"When you compare that with questions marks for other schools, it’s a big difference and it’s a big deal because it’s something that will absolutely impact [recruits'] college experience," Riley said. "It’s something you have to look at because it’s too important.”