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USC's recent recruiting struggles are well-known.

It's common knowledge that not only did the Trojans finish tied for 65th nationally in the 2020 Rivals recruiting rankings (albeit with limited available scholarships), but they signed just one of the top 25 players from the state of California while missing out on countless others they coveted and pursued.

In the 2019 class -- when the first cracks in USC's traditional recruiting machine started to show -- the Trojans signed four of the top 25 in-state players (including Bru McCoy before his transfers to and from Texas) and later added a fifth in transfer Chris Steele.

Still, that was a stark contrast from the way things used to be when USC dominated recruiting in its talent-rich backyard. It was just a couple years ago that the Trojans signed the No. 3-ranked 2018 class, including four of the top five recruits from California (QB JT Daniels, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and CBs Olaijah Griffin and Isaac Taylor-Stuart) and nine of the top 26 in-state prospects overall.

But go even further back to the glory days of last decade and look at USC's No. 1-ranked 2006 recruiting class. The Trojans signed the top six in-state prospects and eight of the top 10.

To be fair, the recruiting landscape has changed nationally. It's just more commonplace and accepted for top prospects all over the country to leave their home states, but there is such an abundance of talent in southern California that USC -- one of the biggest brands in college football -- should never land just one of the top 25 in-state recruits or anything close to that.

New Trojans cornerbacks coach Donte Williams -- who is from Los Angeles and returns to the city after helping Oregon poach top talent from the area in recent years -- made a similar statement in his own words Tuesday while meeting with reporters for the first time since his hiring.

He was asked if there was anything he could apply from his time at Oregon -- which signed the No. 9 recruiting class in 2020 with eight of its 22 signees coming from California -- and he assertively countered the question.

“We’re going to be the trendsetters. We’re USC," he said. "Like I said, the whole thing for us is to take back the West. When you take back something you rightfully own, you don’t copy others. You’re the trendsetter so we’re going to be first.”

It wasn't just Williams, though.

New USC defensive coordinator Todd Orlando emphasized a high priority on recruiting that was in stark contrast to his predecessor Clancy Pendergast, who was well known to be mostly disengaged from the recruiting process. And in hiring Williams as USC's new ace recruiter, defensive line coach Vic So'oto (who might prove to be a future star recruiter in his own right) and safeties coach Craig Naivar (who is also very engaged in the recruiting process), the new Trojans defensive staff is built to make a difference in that department.

"That’s unique when you get a whole room full of those people that are really good at their jobs but are humble enough to be able to work with each other, but also really understand the importance of recruiting," Orlando said. "... You take this area right now and draw a ring around an hour radius, maybe two-hour radius, and you keep the best players and you get them to come here you're going to be in great shape. So that was really, really important to us that we put that together -- top of their field but more importantly recruiters and then like alpha dogs too."

Williams was asked how important it is to have a defensive coordinator who is an active recruiter. It was a question about Orlando, but it also doubled as a referendum on how USC was operating previously with Pendergast largely absent from that process.

“Very important. I think when it comes down to it, every player wants to hear where they fit in. If they only hear it from you, it’s almost like, ‘Yeah, I hear you, but it’s only from you.’ When you hear it and everybody is on the same page -- which we are here, which is great to see, whether it’s me, TO, Coach Helton, we’re all on the same page -- that’s important because you’re hearing it from multiple people instead of just one," he said.

Going back to Williams "take back something you rightfully own" comments about reclaiming a stronghold in southern California recruiting, he certainly embraces the buzz that accompanied his hiring.

Numerous prospects have told TrojanSports.com in recent weeks that Williams' hiring was a game-changer in terms of where USC stands in their recruitment (read those comments here, here and here). So Williams was asked directly how he thinks he can impact USC recruiting immediately in this 2021 cycle.

“Greatly," he said matter-of-factly. "But at the same time, we’ve got a lot of great coaches here and we’ve got a lot of great recruiters here. So that’s just not me to impact USC recruiting. We’re going to do it all together as a team. It’s a group effort. It’s not just me by myself. It’s us. It’s we. I think together, we’ll be able to accomplish great things. ...

“It doesn’t matter if we’re the first [to offer a prospect]. It doesn’t matter if we’re the last. We’re just going to out-recruit everyone else.”

Here's what each of the new USC defensive assistants said about their approach to recruiting and what they feel makes a great recruiter: