USC Trojans Among Highest NIL Spenders On Recruiting In Big Ten

The Maryland Terrapins are spending an average of $190,000 per player. The Terrapins have received four total commitments, ranked No. 21 in the nation and No. 7 in the Big Ten despite being high spenders.

USC has made an effort to keep up with the landscape of college football. USC also made key hirings in the offseason, including general manager Chad Bowden. The addition of Bowden has helped USC dominate the recruiting, especially bringing in the top in-state recruits.

The Trojans have received 27 commitments from the class of 2026. Of the commits, two are five-star players and 14 are four-star recruits. USC is starting to build a wall around California, as 56 percent of the recruits are in-state players.

While USC has been high spenders with recruiting, the Trojans are not relying on NIL to bring the best players in. The Trojans are focusing on building a relationship with potential recruits and finding the players that will fit in with the program the most.

USC hired tight ends coach Chad Savage, who has been a top recruiter for the Trojans. Savage sat down with "Trojans Live" and talked about USC's recruiting momentum. While NIL has had an impact on recruiting, Savage explained it is still the same as it always has been. 

“I think it has changed, but it really hasn’t. At the end of the day, it is a relationship-driven business because one school might offer this amount, another school might offer this amount, but you still have to have the relationship with the person on a personal level,” Savage said.

With the success in recruiting, there is high energy in the building. USC coach Lincoln Riley sat down with CBS Sports’ Josh Pate and talked about the Trojans’ recruiting momentum.

“We’re now kind of in a period we’re starting to transition more into really being what we want to be long term, which is a high school developmental program. Given our location, given our school, our history, the staff we’ve put together, we feel like that’s the best path forward for USC now to take that next step,” Riley said.

“I think recruiting is always a great barometer with where your program's at right,” Riley said. “You’ve got high school players that a lot of these guys are recruiting have the option to go just about anywhere in the country they want to.”

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