5 reasons Urban Meyer is the only answer to fix USC football

2. USC football needs the recruiting prowess of Urban Meyer

This past season was actually a big-time bounce-back year in recruiting for USC. Bringing in a class headlined by Korey Foreman, the No. 2-ranked overall player, the Trojans ranked seventh nationally in terms of their recruiting class. But that overshadows the larger problem of recruiting under Clay Helton.

The ultimate low undoubtedly came in 2020 when USC football had the 64th ranked recruiting class in the country and the 12th-ranked class in the Pac-12. That’s simply unacceptable for a program of this caliber. However, it also doesn’t even take into account the fact that the Trojans hadn’t been the top recruiting class in the conference since 2018, a class that featured 5-star quarterback JT Daniels, who is obviously now at Georgia.

Urban Meyer is one of the greatest quarterbacks in college football history — no hyperbole. His 2010 recruiting class at Florida is considered one of the best ever in the sport but he was also consistent. He had seven recruiting classes at Ohio State and was never outdone by a team in the Big Ten. Furthermore, his average rank of recruiting classes from 2007-18 was 3.66 nationally.

Not only is he proven as a recruiter, but he always retained the best in-state talent at Florida and Ohio State. For the hotbed in Southern California, that’s absolutely pivotal to the sustained success of the Trojans and something Meyer has proven he can do.