USC Trojans Coach Lincoln Riley Recruiting Across California During Bye Week

With the early signing day period officially less than a month away, the USC Trojans coaching staff will hit the recruiting trail this week during the team's second bye week. Lincoln Riley will venture around Southern California visiting numerous local schools.

Oct 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley during a time out against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

With the early national signing day less than a month away on Dec. 4 the USC Trojans coaching staff will hit the recruiting trail while they are on their second bye week to put the finishing the touches on their 2025 class and make sure they preserve their No. 12 ranked class, according to On3.

Lincoln Riley will travel around Southern California. He will visit local high school powerhouses Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, where he has been scrutinized recently for not visiting enough because of the vast amount of elite talent on both of the Trinity League schools. USC doesn't have any recruits in the 2025 class from either school, but they do have 2026 commit Joshua Holland out of Bosco.

We appreciate HC @LincolnRiley @uscfb for stopping by this morning and meeting with our HC @raul3lara @MDFootball #RecruitMD #FightOn✌🏽 pic.twitter.com/1mmGubqWYD

— Rudy Cambero (@OLCoachCam) November 8, 2024

Riley also has a visit planned for Upland where they have 2025 cornerback commit Trestin Castro, who reaffirmed his pledge to the Trojans following their loss to Washington last weekend.

"You want to make a difference? Be the difference! Fight on," Castro wrote on X.

Riley's evening does not end there. The Trojans coach will be attendance for Oaks Christian vs. Oak Hills and Sierra Canyon vs. Servite. USC has a commitment from Sierra Canyon 2026 cornerback Madden Riordan and are targeting a number of players in the 2027 cycle, including Richard Wesley, Havon Finney and Kasi Currie. Defensive ends coach Shaun Nua will also be at the Oaks Christian game to watch 2025 edge commit Hayden Lowe.

Oct 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley during a time out against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

"Recruiting California is and will always be incredibly important to us and that is always priority No. 1," said Riley. "My definition, our definition of recruiting California well is getting the right guys and I'm excited for our staff to continue building relationships inside the state, especially our defensive staff because some of those guys are obviously new."

Trojans defensive line coach Eric Henderson and defensive backs coach Doug Belk will be in Georgia, where USC has been frequent visitors in the 2025 recruiting cycle. The Trojans currently have six commitments from the Peach State, including safety Stephen Miller, who recently raved about his visit to South Carolina last weekend. USC will also look to flip his Greensboro teammate, Florida State commit defensive lineman Kevin Wynn.

Nov 2, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Washington Huskies at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

"I don't know there's any position that we spend more time recruiting on than guys on the defensive front because we know how important they are to any football team,” Riley said. 

Running backs coach Anthony Jones will be in Tennessee to watch 2025 running back commit Duane Morris. The three-star out of Oakland high school has been predicted to flip to his in-state school, the Tennessee Volunteers by On3.

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