Tyler Stearns |
The two most important bills in college sports history are Title IX and the Recent NCAA hearing where collegiate sports’ governing body lost control over NCAA regulation. The recent hearing completely changed how teams can now recruit. With less overview of recruiting, teams are now able to pay players under the guise of “NIL” much more fluidly. This means that teams such as Tennessee, Auburn, and Florida can bolster their classes even more. But the team that is affected by this the most is USC and it will only help the Trojans.
USC picked up four recruits yesterday, two five-star defensive linemen and two four-star defensive backs. The pickups were necessary for the Trojans’ future if USC plans on playing defense under Lincoln Riley. USC hasn’t had a recruiting day like this since Coach Riley first stepped on campus. Why?
For starters, the hiring of coaches Doug Belk and Eric Henderson made the USC defense much more appealing. Both coaches are willing to recruit and good at it too. They made their pitch simple, come to USC and get to the NFL. Seems like what every team in the country says, right? Yes, but both coaches have extended experience in professional or elevated football settings. Coach Henderson comes from the Rams and coached players like Aaron Donald on the defensive line. His NFL development was impressive too, making Kobie Turner and other late-round draft picks into important additions to the defense. Belk doesn’t have NFL experience coaching-wise, but he has had stops at major SEC powerhouses and has been the defensive coordinator for the much-improved Houston football team. He made the Cougars overperform with weaker talent at his disposal. Now, coming to USC, he can recruit at a much higher level because he can tap into the LA market and sunny Southern California.
Arguably the best recruiting tool for these new coaches is NIL. After Virginia and Tennessee sued the NCAA and stripped it of its NIL governing power, many sleeping blue bloods woke up. As mentioned before, teams like Tennessee, Auburn, and Florida will benefit from it, but USC will the most. USC has been under scrutiny from the NCAA since the Reggie Bush scandal. USC was stripped of scholarships and the program’s reputation was completely tainted. USC did not recruit the same way it did during the 2000s and the team hired unproven coaches who experienced poor tenures at the school. With this new development, USC can now use its plethora of NIL opportunities and endless amount of resources given from the boosters to help sign more five-star recruits. Expect USC to recruit similarly to the way they did yesterday and greatly improve the defense for years to come.
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