USC Trojans Host St. John Bosco Coaches At Practice, Southern California Recruiting Efforts

The Trojans currently have one commitment from a St. John Bosco Brave, three-star athlete Joshua Holland. Per 247Sports' rankings, the top recruit from St. John Bosco in the class of 2026 is four-star wide receiver Madden Williams, who is currently committed to the Texas A&M Aggies. Behind Williams is four-star receiver Daniel Odom, committed to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Riley and his staff might be looking to flip Williams or Odom. If not, their hosting of the St. John Bosco coaches still demonstrates their efforts in landing talented Braves in future recruiting classes. Four-star defensive back Jacob Whitehead is currently the highest-ranked recruit from St. John Bosco in the class of 2027.

Upon his hiring at USC, Bowden has been candid about his recruiting strategy and emphasizing Southern California when speaking with the media.

“We’re going to do everything through the city. We’re going to do everything through the state. That’s going to be our primary focus. Now, it doesn’t mean we’re not going to dip into other states because you have to. . . . Something that we’ve found is back when national championships were won here, when Rose Bowls were won here, you look at Pete Carroll’s classes - 02, 03, 04 - over 80 percent of recruiting classes were from the state of California," said Bowden.

Bowden has only been in the area for a couple of months, but he seems to be making good on his promise of recruiting the city of Los Angeles. The Trojans have landed commitments from four-star defensive linemen Simote Katoanga and Tomuhini Topui, both from Southern California.

USC also holds commitments from four-star defensive back Brandon Lockhart, four-star running back RJ Sermons, and three-star defensive back Madden Riordan, all from Southern California. Additionally, the Trojans have recruited nationally, landing four-star quarterback Jonas Williams from Illinois as well as four-star defensive lineman Jaimeon Winfield from Texas.

“History repeats itself. It always does, and if you look into fine details of how programs are built and how the place is built and when success has happened, that was a key part of USC being at the top. My plan and my vision is to bring that back and to take care of this state. The state deserves it," said Bowden.