Recruiting will forever be the lifeblood of college athletics. Yes, things have changed and the transfer portal has meant traditional recruiting has been reshaped because of it, but acquiring talent still remains the name of the game.
Lincoln Riley has reshaped his staff USC this offseason with an emphasis on streamlining the process of adding talent to the roster and improving the overall product on the field. In part, that responsibility will fall on new general manager Chad Bowden, who continues to establish a recruiting staff featuring notable faces from programs around the country.
The recruiting responsibility will not only fall on the shoulders of those in the USC offices, however. The coaches who take the field and will prepare the players for the upcoming season will also naturally have a responsibility to recruit.
Riley said Wednesday during an introductory press conference for his new staff members that who will be on the road as an active recruiter (because of NCAA limits) has not been completely solidified.
However, two of the new assistants who were already on the road in January figure to be a big part of the plan.
New tight ends/inside receivers coach Chad Savage and new cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed will have their responsibilities to develop the players at their positions and prepare them for the fall, but it is hard to ignore how impactful the could be on the recruiting side.
Both new USC assistants have built reputations as high-level recruiters at their previous stops. It doesn't take long when looking at either of their bios to come across the recruiting element of their past successes.
Reed was recently at UCF and Auburn while Savage spent three seasons at Colorado State where California became a critical part of his recruiting base.
Yes both Savage and Reed have performed well as coaches, but neither one shies away from what they are capable of as recruiters.
"Wearing the USC logo. Doesn't matter where you are. Doesn't matter if you're in Southern California, Arizona, on the East Coast, this logo carries weight and people recognize what USC is," Savage said. "Now just continuing to be who I am, I'm not gonna change up just cause I got a different logo on. I'm continuing to be Chad Savage. I'm gonna be loyal, I'm gonna be diligent and I'm gonna just be respectful to people.
"I was raised on certain values and it doesn't matter what school I'm working for, those values are gonna stay the same. At Colorado State ... we combed through every single school, and we were able to find some good prospects. I'm still gonna continue to do the same thing at SC. Yeah, there's some guys that are gonna have the high rankings. Great. But you might find a guy, a diamond in the rough, in an inner-city league, and if he's the best player, we're gonna sign him.”
Like Savage, Reed only sees being at USC as a benefit to what he brings to the table as a recruiter. He understands what the mere mention of the school means to many prospects, and he plans to utilize the USC brand to his advantage when he hits the road.
"Man, it’s USC. I don’t think there’s a good player that’s walking that wouldn’t want to play here," he said. "This place is special. When you’re from here and you see it all the time, you would just be like, ‘Man, that’s just USC.’ No. Us people in the South, that’s USC. This place is special, and we want to continue to make it special. But to make it special, we gotta get special players. We gotta do special things as coaches.
"That staff, man. The way coach Riley built this staff, he left no stone unturned. We got young, we got gray hair y’all, and he’s crazy, but, man, it’s so much knowledge in the room. I’ve learned so much ball in a week, and I know I’m gonna continue to grow as a young coach. Even as a recruiter, I’m around great recruiters also. Man, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime. Again, it’s still surreal to me, but I’m so ready."
High school recruits are being faced with decisions they didn't have to face previously in many regards. The college game has become more like a business than it ever has before, and that puts a lot in the laps of teenagers who are being wooed by coaches from across the country.
Even with all the NIL opportunities being laid in front of recruits, relationships continue to matter as well. Both Reed and Savage don't want that to be lost as they begin their time with the Trojans.
"You just gotta be real, man," Reed said. "No lying to these kids, no lying to the parents. No lying just to get them there and then it’s whatever. I believe in building real relationships. I don’t believe I’m recruiting, I believe I’m building a relationship that’s gonna last a lifetime. And, when you got it like that, the kids are gonna respect it and they’re gonna run through a wall for you. A lot of people consider me as a big-time recruiter.
"I just consider myself as a real person who builds genuine relationships that’s gonna last a lifetime, and we’re gonna do it for this university. Whatever university I’m at, I ain’t selling you no fugazi junk. It’s real, and the love is gonna be real. When you drop a ball, you can come to my office. When you catch for 100 yards, you can come to my office. Like, it’s a real family atmosphere with me. That’s been successful for me, and I don’t plan on changing that."
Both Reed and Savage are younger than 35 years old. Both were still playing not that long ago, and that type of familiarity can hold a lot of weight with recruits. Savage understands that and knows that it all ends up leading to a stronger relationship and bond with the recruits his teams want to add.
“I see myself as a self starter, I see myself as a high energy guy," he said. "So being a younger guy, I can relate to these guys. I know what music they're listening to. Some of these inside jokes they might be making walking down the hallways, I might have heard it once or twice. But just being able to relate to these guys on a personal level and being consistent with my energy and attitude every single day.
"Because you see me at practice, I'm gonna be flying around, I'm gonna be running around. I won't be walking. That's just who I am as a coach. I think when you perform with high energy, energy is contagious, and so if you're a coach with high energy, it's gonna wear off on your team and you're gonna see what you want.”
Based off the first big junior day weekend for the Trojans, the new coaches certainly made their presence felt and now it will be turning about the eagerness and excitement into commitments — which both coaches have been able to do before.
