Wednesday marked the first National Signing Day for the incoming 2024 college football class. During the Early Signing Period, which ends on Friday, incoming high school recruits have the opportunity to sign their letters of intent for college play.
So far, USC has reported that 19 players have signed with the Trojans for the upcoming season. Overall, the Trojans brought in 10 four-star recruits and eight three-stars in this class, according to 247Sports’ Composite rankings.
The team looked to address a struggling defense from the 2023 season, adding a score of new defensive players. Carlon Jones, Jide Abasiri, Lorenzo Cowan and highly-recruited Kameryn Fountain join the Trojans’ defensive line, backed up by linebackers Elijah Newby and Desman Stephens II. USC also got a boost in the secondary with the addition of cornerbacks Marcelles Williams and Braylon Conley, as well as safeties Marquis Gallegos and Jarvis Boatwright Jr.
Head coach Lincoln Riley had plenty of praise for his incoming defensive recruits on National Signing Day, particularly Fountain and Newby.
“[Newby and Fountain] were two kids and two families that are about the right thing, all the way,” Riley said. “They never looked back, they never wavered, not for one second. … We feel like those are two future difference-makers, and [assistant coach] Roy [Manning] certainly deserves a ton of credit for that.”
It was an impressive incoming defensive class for the Trojans, who lost their defensive backs coach, Donte Williams, to Georgia this weekend. USC’s coaching staff has undergone a full revamp lately: most notably, former UCLA defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn stepped into the role for USC, who fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch during the 2023 season. The Trojans are also bringing in North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz as an assistant head coach for the defense as well as the linebackers coach, and Riley recently named Doug Belk as USC’s new secondary coach. Belk formerly served as the associate head coach/defensive coordinator at Houston.
“One of the non-negotiables for me in the defensive coordinator hire was somebody that wanted to play bigger on the defensive front and shared that vision,” Riley said. “And we certainly have.”
On the offensive end, USC added five new linemen: Makai Saina, Kalolo Ta’aga, Justin Tauanuu, Hayden Treter and Jason Zandamela. Zandamela is the top get for USC in the offensive line class, ranked as the No. 100 overall recruit and second-highest rated interior offensive lineman in the nation according to 247Sports. Joey Olson, Walter Matthews and Walker Lyons joined the tight end room. Lyons signed with the Trojans last winter before embarking on his Mormon mission in Norway this year, but will join the team for the 2024 season. Wide receiver Xavier Jordan and running back Bryan Jackson round out the current offensive recruiting class.
Given the timing of the day, players have the option to finish high school early and enroll at USC in the spring, giving them an entire semester of practices before next season starts. Abasiri, Boatwright Jr., Cowan, Fountain, Gallegos, Jackson, Jordan, Newby, Olsen, Stephens II, Ta’aga, Tauanuu, Williams and Zandamela all decided to do so, and will start at USC in January.
Notably, USC hoped to sign receiver Ryan Pellum, who switched his commitment to Oregon early Wednesday. Riley commented on recruiting and changing commitments during his media availability later in the day.
“The guy that wavers on signing day is gonna waver when something doesn’t go his way here,” Riley said. “He’s gonna waver when he’s not the starter as a true freshman coming right out, he’s gonna waver when somebody on the outside tells him that he should look somewhere else.”
Do instances like these stand independent of the influence of NIL and the ever-expanding transfer portal? Looking at the past few days of recruiting for the Trojans, it’s hard to tell. USC freshman quarterback Malachi Nelson, sophomore running back Raleek Brown, sophomore cornerback Domani Jackson and junior defensive lineman Korey Foreman — all former four or five-star recruits — entered the transfer portal after the end of the regular season.
But Riley is optimistic about the Trojans’ potential going into next year. The Trojans finished 7-5 (5-4 in conference play) in their last season in the Pac-12 and have the No. 18-ranked freshman recruiting class, according to 247Sports, going into their first season in the Big Ten.
“The commitment level of these guys to understand the opportunity we all have here at a place like USC, the opportunity to help bring this program back to where we all want it to be, it’s shared across this class,” Riley said.
USC is still awaiting an official letter of intent from four-star cornerback Isaiah Rubin, who verbally committed to the Trojans in October. Rubin, however, did repost a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, which stated “Isaiah Rubin has signed with USC.”