Riley actually has signed quarterbacks in every cycle since he became a head coach except for his first at USC when he was hired just two weeks before the early signing period.

Oklahoma signed three-star quarterback Chandler Morris (expected to be TCU’s starter this fall) that cycle. Riley offered Young during the 2020 recruiting cycle, and the Sooners were among Young’s finalists when he initially committed to the Trojans in July 2018. Riley said there have been some years when his staff has offered some quarterbacks who decided Oklahoma or USC wasn’t for them. And you kind of know what they’re made of before you even get in some of those situations with them.”Īs for the competitive aspect of Riley’s answer, if USC has gone this deep in recruiting Raiola twice (this year and last), it’s probably fair to assume he doesn’t mind competing with whoever is on the roster next year, whether that’s Nelson and/or Moss. “I love having good players in the room because 1) Obviously, it’s good having good players in the room and 2) If somebody comes in there, that means they’re not scared to compete. But I like knowing that on the front end because that tells me the guy’s scared to compete, and if he’s scared to compete, this ain’t the room for him. “Honestly, throughout the years, there have been several years where there hasn’t been a guy that I’ve just like totally said, ‘He’s the guy.’ … Have we occasionally run into guys that don’t want to come because a high-profile guy came in the year before? Absolutely, we have. “I’m definitely not against it,” Riley said of recruiting top-tier quarterbacks every cycle. So let’s parse through Riley’s answer and what it says (indirectly) about USC’s pursuit of Raiola. But on Saturday, Riley was asked about his quarterback recruiting philosophy and the factors that would lead him to recruit high-profile quarterbacks in consecutive classes. Riley and coaches across the country can’t mention prospective recruits by name until they’re signed.

Printme usc