COLUMN: With 2023 recruiting haul, USC's talent level closer to its goals

A year ago at this time, when he was talking about competing for championships every season -- including Year 1 -- it seemed a little optimistic given the state of what he inherited. Well, sure enough, the Trojans were in the hunt for a College Football Playoff berth until the final weekend and reached the Pac-12 championship game as part of an 11-2 season (with the Cotton Bowl still to play).

Also a year ago, Riley came out and plainly said that he "may overhaul 35 if not even more spots on this roster." Sure enough, the Trojans brought in 19 transfers, seven freshmen, an Australian punter and two JUCO additions while further purging inherited roster spots.

So Riley's comments Wednesday on Early Signing Day weren't uncharacteristic, but they were still attention-grabbing nonetheless.

"I know certainly in my mind we're going to have more talented teams going forward. In reality, I think when we look back 10 years from now, this will probably be in some ways maybe one of the less talented teams that we'll have," Riley said of these 11-2 Trojans.

"But in terms of chemistry, the locker room being right, just kind of the vibe and culture around our team, these guys have been outstanding. That's been our ace in the hole all year. That's been the thing that's separated us and gave us a chance to win a lot of games, go on a pretty cool run here."

A Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, two unanimous first-team All-American selections (and three others earning at least one first-team All-America nod), a seven-win improvement (so far) from the previous season, much of the fall spent in the top-10 of the national rankings, etc., reflects the feats of a pretty damn talented football team.

But Riley doubled down ...

"In reality, I'll be disappointed if this isn't the worst team that we have in our entire tenure here," he said again later in his press conference Wednesday. "I say that with -- I've loved coaching this team, like loved it, but we want to continue [to elevate]."

Indeed, Riley has been consistent in his messaging on expectations and standards from the day he arrived at USC -- he is here to win national championships -- and part of that is an honest acceptance of reality.

This USC team probably overachieved this season and certainly exceeded almost all outside expectations. Riley and his staff added a lot of very significant roster upgrades in a very quick window of time after arriving last year, but this was still not a national championship-caliber roster.

Not defensively, at least.

Riley and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch inherited the worst defense in Trojans history and found a couple of immediate solutions from the transfer portal in linebacker Eric Gentry and cornerback Mekhi Blackmon along with some other helpful additions. The unit had some definite high points along the way while starting to develop an identity. Heck, it even directly won probably a couple of games for the team.

But there remained too many questions, too many soft spots, too little depth across the board on that side of the ball to sustain consistency. It all came to a head in that 47-24 loss to Utah in the conference championship game.

Twitter and message boards were flooded with calls for Riley to fire Grinch, but that was never going to happen one year into this. Riley has been unwavering in his belief in Grinch, whom he hired at Oklahoma and brought with him on Day 1 to USC. That could certainly change at some point, but for now they know what they're trying to build. More to the point, they are both surely aligned in assessing that the roster isn't what it needs to be on the defensive side yet.

Riley was asked about that specifically Wednesday, while talking about the latest influx of talent for the Trojans through this 2023 signing class and the latest round of transfer portal reinforcements.

"We took some huge steps," he said. "Listen, there's no two ways about it, there were several positions defensively that we landed on and were able to get our very early on high-end targets, and those are really important. There wasn't a linebacker in the country we wanted more than Tackett Curtis. I mean, I think he's the best inside linebacker in the country. There's not one I would take over him. I think he is phenomenal. We zeroed in on a couple of edge guys pretty early -- Braylan Shelby and DJ Peevy, and we love what they bring to the table.

"We really zeroed in on a couple of East Coast defensive linemen in Elijah [Hughes] and Sam [Greene] and being able to get both of those guys here, both of them having the courage and the trust to make that jump from the East Coast was a big thing. ... Specifically, the front seven -- that was a huge focus point for us going into this class -- we certainly made some noise and then obviously we've had some success in the transfer portal and we'll have more here in the coming weeks to continue to add to that. Front seven was front and center in all of our minds, and I think when you land on a couple of your top prospects the way that we did was really a home run for us."

Last year, the Trojans brought in Gentry (from Arizona State) and Shane Lee (from Alabama) to help at linebacker. Both players will return in 2023, joined by marquee transfer addition Mason Cobb, who led Oklahoma State with 96 tackles and 13 tackles for loss this season, and Curtis, the prized recruit from Many, La., ranked the No. 2 ILB and No. 68 overall national prospect in this class. USC beat out Ohio State and Wisconsin for him, landing his commitment over the summer.

Much of this past season, Riley and Grinch bemoaned the level of production from the rush end (outside linebacker) spot. In 2023, they'll get back Romello Height -- a transfer addition last year from Auburn who missed most of the season with a shoulder injury -- while adding intriguing Georgia State transfer Jamil Muhammad (a converted QB still growing into the OLB position but with clear abilities) and the two recruits Riley mentioned.

Shelby, who chose the Trojans over in-state Texas, is ranked the No. 2 OLB and No. 51 overall national prospect. And Peevy, the San Diego prospect who picked USC over Oregon, is a three-star prospect that this staff wanted all recruiting cycle, clearly believing his potential outpaces his recruiting ranking.

The interior of the defensive line remains maybe the biggest concern for this team, and it's too early to project whether the Trojans have demonstrably changed that reality, but they did land Arizona starting defensive tackle Kyon Barrs and three three-star recruits in the aforementioned Hughes (the last addition to the early signing class, from Arlington, Va.), Greene (from Washington, D.C.) and local prospect Deijon Laffitte (Colony HS/Ontario, Calif.).

At cornerback, with Blackmon out of eligibility and headed to the NFL, USC has already brought in Arizona starter Christian Roland-Wallace as another transfer add.

There's no way to account for how the returning players will improve and grow, or what other transfers the Trojans land between now and summer. The safe conclusion is probably that USC hasn't solved all of its defensive roster issues just yet but that the Trojans have indeed taken another step toward closing the talent gap there.

Meanwhile, on offense -- which will never be a question mark as long as Riley is at the helm -- the Trojans restocked in a big way Wednesday, signing five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson (the No. 6 overall national prospect), five-star wide receiver Zachariah Branch (No. 16 overall), high four-star WR Makai Lemon (No. 58), along with two highly-productive four-star running backs from Texas in Quinten Joyner (No. 127) and A'Marion Peterson and five offensive linemen, including four-star tackle Elijah Paige (No. 161).

Nelson, from Los Alamitos HS, will sit behind Heisman winner Caleb Williams next season before vying to become Riley's next star pupil at the position.

"Malachi's, I've always thought, a really unique talent. His ability to throw the ball and process at a young age, he's certainly well ahead of his years there and very impressive," Riley said. "Throughout a long recruiting process with him and his family, I think just the comfort factor of getting to know who he is as a person, getting to know his family, the way he's raised, his goals, we've seen him improve throughout the years even when he was getting offers and a lot of attention very early on. I feel like the kid has really continued to work hard and wants to improve. I think a lot of the things I've listed in terms of what we're looking for at USC, he fits.

"And as far as what we're looking for at the quarterback position, he's a guy that I feel like has an extremely bright future as a player, as a leader and as a winner, and that's what we have to have at that position."

Branch is, simply put, one of the most exciting prospects in the country at any position. His blend of elite speed, equally elite route-running and some of the most reliable hands in this recruiting class is tantalizing within the framework of a Riley offense.

"Zach is a special talent. His explosiveness is very, very rare. You [can] go a lot of years and not come across a guy that has that elite explosiveness combined with just really, really good football skills," Riley said. "A lot of times you have to pick one or the other -- maybe a raw player that maybe is not quite developed on the football field yet or vice versa. He's one of the very few that has both. I think you combine him certainly with Makai Lemon, who we think is very, very special as well, that tandem right there is good as anywhere you'll find in the country."

Lemon has often been compared to former Trojans star WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. A Los Alamitos High School teammate and close friend of Nelson's, he combines physicality with incredible after-the-catch ability. Add in Arizona WR transfer Dorian Singer (66 catches for 1,105 yards and 6 TDs this fall) and that position group will be overflowing with top-end talent yet again.

As for the running backs, Joyner rushed for 1,794 yards on 196 carries (9.2 yards per carry) and 25 TDs this year, and Peterson was every bit as prodigious. Complete stats aren't available for the Wichita Falls, Texas, standout, but in his junior season he rumbled for 1,817 yards (7.6 YPC) with 28 TDs and caught 15 passes for 181 yards and 2 TDs.

The five offensive linemen, meanwhile, provide a desperately-needed replenishing of young talent and a potential foundation for the future with Paige, who flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to USC in October, 6-foot-7 local offensive tackle Tobias Raymond and three intriguing interior linemen in three-stars Micah Banuelos, Alani Noa and Amos Talalele (who could also get a look at tackle).

With the Trojans losing All-American left guard Andrew Vorhees, four-year starting standout center Brett Neilon, veteran left tackle Bobby Haskins, prolific running back Travis Dye, former Biletnikoff Award-winning wide receiver Jordan Addison, All-American defensive end Tuli Tuipulotu, veteran nose tackle Brandon Pili, veteran defensive end/rush end Nick Figueroa and Blackmon -- at least, with more possible after the bowl game -- it's hard to say that the 2023 Trojans are more talented at this point than those 11-2 Trojans of 2022.

But again, Riley and Co. aren't done. There are a couple more notable Class of 2023 targets still uncommitted in five-star tight end Duce Robinson and four-star cornerback Rodrick Pleasant, plus plenty of transfer portal season still to go.

Riley's point, though, was broader than what can currently be evaluated. His point is that 2022 was merely the foundation -- a strong one -- and that there's no reason the Trojans shouldn't continue to get aggregately better every year moving forward while stacking loaded recruiting classes/transfer hauls on top of each other.

Riley's frankness is refreshing, but his comments Wednesday aren't necessarily bold if you believe it.

For a coach who is now 66-12 in six seasons, having never lost more than 2 games in any campaign, while producing three Heisman Trophy winners and a Heisman runner-up, with three College Football Playoff berths in that span, who is going to doubt or disagree?

"I think this team has really taken it personal to be, they kind of made it their mission to be the start of something new. There's only one team that will ever get to start a great run, and I think this team up to this point they've done their part, and we need to go finish it and play very well in the Cotton Bowl. But this team has given this program a chance to really start something special here," Riley said Wednesday.

"I think that's important to everybody in that locker room and it's sent a message to recruits all over the country. The reality is, this is just the tip of the iceberg here. This is still so bottom level for what this program can be. That's the genuine excitement you feel in our halls with our current team and with our future guys out there. This could be the start of something really, really special. You better jump on or watch us go by."