USC running back Eli Sanders made two stops at Iowa State and New Mexico before returning home.
The redshirt senior finally made his debut at the Coliseum as a Trojan on Saturday, and dished out at least 10 tickets to friends and family to come watch him average 6.6 yards on five carries as part of an explosive rushing attack that led USC to a 73-13 win over Missouri State.
“Coming back home and playing for SC is super huge for me and my family,” Sanders told reporters after the game. “Just having the opportunity to come here at this university and get my degree and also play sports is truly a blessing.”
But what if Sanders — who grew up in Oceanside before moving to Arizona — had been with USC from the beginning? We may never know the answer, but a renewed emphasis on developing backyard talent could have us asking that question less and less.
Head coach Lincoln Riley has said that he wants to prioritize recruiting in Southern California and developing players as opposed to picking from the portal, and he doubled down on that with the depth chart for Missouri State.
Twenty players with ties to Southern California were listed on the depth chart, which went two-deep for some positions and three-deep for others. Two out of five team captains were from SoCal in Kamari Ramsey and Kilian O’Connor and another, Devan Thompkins, is from Northern California.
From another perspective, 37 non-transfers made the cut, and 13 of them were listed as starters.
“We’ve told you about our plan to build this roster and to build the best when we can at SC,” Riley told reporters the day before Missouri State.
“And I think that’s maybe the best evidence of all, because it’s one thing to just have guys on your roster from this place, it’s two for them to be succeeding and be a really important core part of your football team. We’ve certainly noticed it. We feel that.”
One of the biggest success stories of taking local talent and bringing out its best at the college level is Makai Lemon, a Los Alamitos product who is in his junior year with the Trojans. He had seven catches for 90 yards on Saturday.
The blueprint may be followed in the class of 2026 recruiting class, which is dense with Southern California talent. Five-star Mater Dei tight end Mark Bowman headlines the group in addition to eight four-stars from the area.
The class is ranked second in the nation according to recruiting website 247sports.com.
“We’ll continue to recruit the way we are and develop the way we are,” Riley said. “It’s going to be a lot of that and a couple of transfers here and there, and I know that puts us in the best position to be what we want to be.”
But competition will remain, regardless of where players come from, and although homegrown players dotted the depth chart on Saturday evening, it doesn’t mean they’ll stay there. It follows a philosophy similar to that of how USC selects its captains.
“Those guys are pointing our roster and always will be,” Riley said. “But it’s the same for everyone in our program. Once they get in our program, it’s all about their performance. Do we trust them? Are they reliable? We try to treat everybody the same when it gets to there. A lot of guys from this area make a lot of big plays for us tonight.”
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