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When 4-star running back Brandon Campbell committed to USC on March 28, it wasn't the end of the recruiting process for him but rather a new beginning.
Campbell, a top-200-ranked prospect from Houston, Texas, immediately transitioned from recruit to recruiter, pledging to help USC land one of the top classes in the country.
And, indeed, he's been hard at work trying to make that happen.
The latest big get for the Trojans came Friday night when 4-star Rivals100 WR Quaydarius Davis announced his commitment to USC. Davis is teammates with Campbell on the FAST Houston 7-on-7 team, and upon his own commitment Campbell went to work trying to help the Trojans seal the deal with the highly-touted wide receiver who is ranked the No. 21 overall prospect in this class.
Joining the Trojan Talk podcast over the weekend, Campbell explained what his efforts entail, the buzz he's hearing about USC recruiting in general and he detailed some of the key prospects he's working on now.
**LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST HERE**
"I talk to basically most of the staff every week, at least once a week. I try to get on the phone with everybody -- receivers coach, safeties coach, corners coach, O-line coach, [running backs] coach [Mike] Jinks, everybody. Just to see where we stand and to see what's the priority," Campbell explained. "When I reach out to them, if I feel I've seen somebody that has genuine interest, I'll tell them. And the guys who maybe they're a priority to us and I feel like we're not a priority to them right now, I express that, and basically that's how we decide if we're going to move along or we're going to keep recruiting them. ...
"I feel like they have enough trust in me if I put out a player and say, 'This guy can go,' I feel like they'll evaluate him and let me know what they think about him. It goes both ways, though. They'll ask me about players, and I'll tell them from when I've seen them play what I feel about them. ... That comes with trust, and me and the staff have a really good connection and it's easy to talk about all that stuff. They're straightforward and they're going to tell you how it is -- they're not going to beat around the bush."
In the case of Davis, Campbell says they were already talking about USC before he even decided 100 percent that was going to be his commitment choice. Those conversations then continued and about a month ago Campbell felt he had Davis on board.
"With Quay, I knew it was going to be a little bit of a process, but I knew the caliber of player he was and I just knew the staff was real high on Quay," Campbell said. "Quay was one of the top targets for us. So I would just try to talk to him, try to reach out and let him know that we're really interested in him and just let him know where we stand with him. Just really try to show him love and stuff -- the same love they showed me -- and I think we did a good job with Quay. I feel like he's going to help us in terms of the recruiting class, get some more things rolling and he'll most definitely be able to help on the field. ...
"I know whenever me and [offensive coordinator Graham] Harrell talked about Quay, he said he reminds him a lot of Dez Bryant, and I see that too -- with really strong hands. I feel like he can go up and get it. Every time I see the quarterback put it up there for Quay, he comes [down with it]. He has really strong hands and he's just dominant. You can just feel it when he's out there. He has a real dominant personality. I feel like those are players you need to help move you to the next level."
And Campbell -- along with the USC coaching staff, of course -- are trying to add more such game-changers to the equation as this 2021 recruiting class continues to build momentum.
Asked in general how he goes about playing a factor in that, Campbell explained the process.
"For me, it's just based off feel and what's going on. If I know the coaches have just talked to him, I'll reach out," he said. "Maybe for like a period of time I may text him every day for like two, three days, and then just checking up on him, talking about regular stuff, the recruiting process, USC, other schools as well. I just like to make sure I keep in contact with them, let them know we're still interested, what we have going on at USC, how they would fit in and how they can help turn this program around and get it back to where it used to be."
