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Recruiting rules all in the college football world and in today’s day in age, the early signing period is important for programs to get off on the right foot leading into the bulk of the offseason.
Plenty of programs had big-time days as the early signing period began on Wednesday. Teams like Tennessee, South Carolina and Miami were somewhat of a surprise as they sit inside the Top 20 of the 247 Sport’s team rankings.
There was a certain historic program that calls Los Angeles home that had an absolutely pathetic day, however. At one point on Wednesday, USC ranked 85th in the nation when it came to its recruiting class. The powerhouse that is Georgia State had a better class at No. 84 in the country.
The Trojans did gain some ground later on in the day jumping Louisiana to take the No. 79 spot. Just to emphasize how bad USC’s early class is, it’s the worst in all of the Pac 12 at the moment. The Trojans had the No. 20 class in the nation just a year ago.
USC went 8-4 this season after winning five games a year ago in Clay Helton’s third full season as the man in charge.
It’s pretty clear that something isn’t right when it come to USC’s recruiting efforts, at least for the time being; perhaps kids don’t look at this program like they once used to.
You don’t have to be some sort of college football recruiting junky to realize just how horrible things are going for the Trojans when it comes to this year’s class, but Helton doesn’t seem to think so.
He addressed the situation with the media following the day’s action, and while he’s trying to remain positive, he certainly isn’t fooling anyone with this coach-speak quote.
“We had a very good day today that we’re very happy about,” Helton told the Los Angeles Times, with a grin on his face. “I’m not necessarily about perception, I’m about wins and how to produce the best football team. You have to worry maybe not about popular opinion and address what your needs are.”
It’s a ‘whatever’ answer from Helton. While he’s right in basically explaining that recruiting rankings and the number of stars next to kid’s names aren’t the end all be all, it’s not a great look for him or the program.
Rutgers, yes, Rutgers currently has a better class right now according to the rankings. Woof.