Elite West Coast players discuss unstable coaching situation at USC
NORWALK, Calif. – Justin Flowe is the kind of prospect that, not so long ago, would have almost undoubtedly landed at USC.
A five-star linebacker that grew up in Southern California, Flowe is the very foundation on which the Trojans built a blueblood football program. These days, however, the No. 3 prospect in America is a skeptic just like everyone else. Will he eventually land at USC? Possibly, but he certainly isn’t itching to sign on the dotted line as things stand.
MORE L.A. RCS: Players on the radar | Gorney Awards | Prospects who earned their stripes | Five teams that should be pleased | Thoughts from the sideline
See, Flowe reads the news like everyone else. That’s a fact that became clear at last weekend’s Rivals 3 Stripe Camp stop in Los Angeles. There, he was asked about his relationship with the Trojans’ staff and the changes that were made following the disaster that was last season. What wasn’t even a particularly pointed question was met with a blunt answer that went well beyond the disappointing 5-7 record the program posted in 2018.
“I just think the coaching staff is a little unorganized,” Flowe said matter-of-factly with a video camera pointed in his face.
An epiphany it was not. The words were a simple statement of a popular opinion. So even if things in USC’s football offices have stabilized and are now headed in the right direction, perception is reality in the recruiting world. And the perception is that head coach Clay Helton will spend 2019 coaching for his job.
“I’m going to keep observing what they do this year and see if Clay Helton can put the program back together,” said five-star cornerback Kelee Ringo, who carries a USC offer. “I like the players and the coaches there a lot, actually. I think a successful season for them is just to do better than they did last year. I feel like they have the talent already and they have the coaching. It just needs to click.”
But what if it doesn’t “click?”
The Trojans finished the 2019 recruiting cycle with the country’s No. 19 class. And while that would be reason for celebration at many schools, it marked the program’s worst finish since Rivals.com started ranking classes in 2006. Last cycle also saw each of California’s top four prospects pass on USC for the second time in the last three years.
College football has certain truths. Failure breeds disappointment anywhere. The specific setting is largely unimportant when it comes to that. Still, there’s always a bit of nuance. Four-star Washington wide receiver Gee Scott, who recently chose Ohio State over an offer from the Trojans, says what makes USC unique is how quickly that disappointment can turn to indifference. If fan disappointment is rat poison to a football program, fan indifference is a full-on H-bomb.
“From a recruit standpoint, L.A. is such a big city,” Scott said. “When you have a team like USC kind of falling under, none of the fans are really worried about that. They got the Lakers and any program they want down there. So when you have a program that has fallen under a little bit, that may shy recruits away a little bit.”
Scott also sees the other side of the coin – the side that says any indifference or unrest that takes hold at the state’s proudest football program will be temporary. That line of thinking suggests that USC is, at its core, too big to fail … or fail for long, anyway.
“I trust a place like USC,” Scott said. “That’s a big brand. No matter what, you tell somebody you played at USC, and they are like ‘oh wow, this kid went to USC.’ That’s why it’s not a huge knock that they’ve had a few unstable years. I think kids like me look a little bit deeper into it because we know USC will bounce back. For me, it wasn’t about what USC doesn’t have. It was more about what Ohio State does have.”
And so the 2020 recruiting cycle has two possible endings: The first is that USC’s current coaching staff rights the ship and stability brings a slow return to high-level recruiting. The second includes a new head coach equipped with a clean slate and time to search for the answers that eluded Helton and company.
What’s clear is that either scenario beats the current one.
“When they’re good and they’re rolling, it’s still 100 percent (the school West Coast players want to go to), Scott said. “That’s USC, man. No matter where you are. People in Seattle talk about USC the same way people from California do. I’ve been all over the country and when people talk USC, they still talk big-time football.”
