New USC football coach Lincoln Riley has had a little more than two weeks to rally the Trojans' 2022 recruiting class ahead of the early signing period, and there remains significant mystery and suspense as to how it will all shake out.

First, the Trojans' 2022 class was just about stripped bare following Riley's hiring, with four prospects exiting the class, leaving only four commits and a group that sits 97th in the Rivals rankings entering the big day Wednesday.

USC will make a major surge up the rankings, of course, but just how high the Trojans can climb is still hard to gauge.

We'll walk you through where things stand, the key prospects and storylines in play and the schedule of expected announcements. Bear in mind, USC is expected to be very aggressive in the transfer portal so not all of the needs will be filled this week with high school prospects.

Also hop into our Early Signing Period live tracker that will be up and running bright and early Wednesday as the signed National Letters of Intent start rolling in for schools.

Five-star RB Raleek Brown (Mater Dei HS)

The first -- and so far only -- Class of 2022 recruiting domino to fall in USC's favor since Riley took over was Brown flipping from Oklahoma to the Trojans.

It was an expected move after Riley made the move from Norman, Okla., to Los Angeles, but the impact can't be overstated. Brown is one of the most exciting prospects in the country, whether it's carrying the football or using his elite speed and hands to make plays downfield. He will a focal point of Riley's Trojans offenses for the next few years.

Brown is signing Wednesday and will take part in a ceremony at Mater Dei HS at 1 p.m., and we'll be on site with coverage.

He is not graduating early so he will be a summer enrollee at USC.

The only question is how of his high-profile teammates end up joining him ...

Coverage: In-depth interview with Raleek Brown after his USC commitment announcement

Four-star CB Fabian Ross (Bishop Gorman HS/Las Vegas, Nev.)

Ross is the longest-standing USC commit, having announced his decision way back on Jan. 4. More to the point, he's the only commit that has even been in place since start of the 2021 season. The rest have all moved on, but Ross never wavered.

He had an in-home visit with new USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch last Thursday and then took his official visit to campus over the weekend. He's made a good connection with the new coaching staff and is set to sign Wednesday.

Bishop Gorman is having a formal signing ceremony around noon and we'll provide coverage on site here in Las Vegas.

Coverage: We just interviewed Ross in Las Vegas and will have a story posted this evening.

Three-star DE Devan Thompkins (Edison Senior HS/Stockton, Calif.)

Thompkins was the rare in-season commit who remained in the class during this coaching transition. He committed back on Nov. 19 and was on campus early this week to meet with the new coaches. He tells us that he's locked in and will sign Wednesday.

Along with Thompkins, USC picked up a commitment Monday from TCU defensive tackle transfer Earl Barquet.

Two-star P Atticus Bertrams (Melbourne, Australia)

With punter Ben Griffiths expected to move onto the NFL, though he has not made a formal announcement yet, USC picked up a commitment in late October from a fellow Australian punter in Bertrams.

He is a scholarship recruit. We do not have any details on his signing plans at this time.

DT Earl Barquet from TCU

Barquet visited USC over the weekend and promptly announced his transfer commitment Monday. The 6-foot-3, 277-pound defensive tackle, who was a three-star prospect out of Marrero, La., in the 2019 class, has three years of eligibility remaining after redshirting in 2019 and totaling 21 tackles and 2.5 sacks over the last two seasons for TCU.

Coverage: USC get a DL depth boost with transfer Earl Barquet

Four-star WR CJ Williams (Mater Dei HS)

Williams de-committed from Notre Dame on Monday fresh off his official visit to USC and meeting with the new coaching staff.

Williams will not publicly announce his decision until the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 8. It's likely he'll sign this week, but it'll kept under wraps for another few weeks.

While Williams also met with UCLA coaches recently, it's fully expected that he will end up at USC when all is said and done. The Trojans had recruited him aggressively for years but couldn't quite get any traction under the former coaching staff -- that changed quickly these last couple weeks with Riley taking over the program.

Announcement time: Jan. 8 at the All-American Bowl

Four-star safety Zion Branch (Bishop Gorman HS/Las Vegas, Nev.)

Branch had long been working with a top three of USC, Oklahoma and Ohio State, and suddenly the coaches he was attached to with the Sooners -- Riley and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch -- ended up in Los Angeles while significantly boosting the Trojans' chances to land the coveted safety.

Branch had two in-home visits with USC coaches the last couple weeks and then took an official visit to campus last weekend.

USC is looking very good here.

Announcement time: Branch will sign Wednesday and announce his decision live on ESPN around 12:15 p.m PT.

Coverage: Four-star safety Zion Branch talks USC visit and final decision