While USC football is known for the high-end talent it produces for the NFL and college football, there are and have been limits. USC has put a lot of players into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Yet, for every success, there is also the reality that the Trojans do not always hit on the top-ranked talent they bring into the program coming out of high school.
Everyone doesn’t pan out as an All-American or Heisman Trophy Winner even though USC is known for both. The Trojans have also produced the most No. 1 overall draft picks in NFL history.
So, who were the biggest high school recruiting busts in USC football history? This might not necessarily be “fun” to read, but it can be informative and a cautionary tale about recruiting rankings, thinking a program has the best talent, and making sure the coaches develop what they have, not the players who sit at the top of a rankings list.
USC trails Oregon in terms of recruiting rankings, but if the Trojan coaches fully develop their players, recruiting rankings won’t mean quite as much as many people think. That is a topic which has dominated the offseason, and the reality is that while recruiting rankings aren’t irrelevant, they aren’t Gospel truth either.
USC can’t lament the recruiting failures of the past. The Trojans know that when they bring players in, their hit rate has to be high. Their ability to develop players has to be consistent and widely visible. The Trojans can’t endure many more swings and misses.
Want to identify the biggest football recruiting busts USC has endured? I have the list right here.
Before we get started here are some names I couldn’t leave off the honorable mention list: Bru McCoy (WR/ATH), Palaie Gaoteote IV (OLB), Joesph Lewis (WR), and Raleek Brown (RB/KR). Now let’s go to the foremost selections in this category:
5. Malachi Nelson (QB)
USC transfer Malachi Nelson has lost the Boise State QB Battle to (RS) Sophomore Maddux Madsen.
Madsen was the 110th-ranked QB in 2022, Nelson was a 5🌟 top-5 QB in 2023.
Wow. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/MkbPyYIqet
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) August 18, 2024
ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported Sunday that former two star recruit Maddux Madsen reportedly beat out Malachi Nelson, rated the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class by ESPN. Nelson played one season at USC before transferring to Boise this offseason.
In 2023, he sat behind Caleb Williams and Miller Moss on the depth chart.
He has four years of elgibility left in his college career moving forward.
4. Stephen Carr (RB)
A former consensus five-star recruit, Stephen Carr’s USC career was mounted by injuries in his three years as a Trojan.
As a true freshman, he averaged 5.6 yards per carry and 11.1 yards per catch while picking up an All-Pac-12 honorable mention.
In four seasons including a senior season at Indiana, he rushed for 1,319 yards and 12 touchdowns on 264 carries, never rushing for more than 396 yards in a season and never getting more than 81 carries in a campaign. He also caught 57 passes for 421 yards and a touchdown.
3. Osa Masina (LB)
Name a former USC player that had great potential but never paned out or something happened:
I’ll go first, 2015 5 ⭐️ linebacker Osa Masina!! Mannn smh I hate the situation that transpired with this guy.. he definitely messed up his opportunity!! #FightOn ✌🏿 pic.twitter.com/pDxf7dZaCh
— Sacramento Trojan ✌🏿 (@916Trojan) July 1, 2024
Salt Lake City (Utah) Brighton product Osa Masina had trouble both on and, especially, off the field. He played in 12 games as a freshman and was poised for a big sophomore season but was dismissed from the team in 2016.
The former USC five-star linebacker Osa Masina was sentenced to 3 Years in jail for sexual battery as Masina accepted a plea deal per TMZ Sports in 2017.
2. Korey Foreman (EDGE)
Former USC Trojans defensive end Korey Foreman, who was the No. 2 overall recruit on the 247Sports composite list for class of 2021 college football recruits played three seasons at USC before transferring to Fresno State this year.
In 23 games over three years, Foreman made 25 tackles (2.5 sacks) and one huge interception—a game-sealing pick to end a 48-45 win over UCLA in 2022.
He will start for the Fresno State Bulldogs this season.
1. J.T Daniels
Rice quarterback JT Daniels is medically retiring from football after suffering multiple concussions and being advised to retire by his doctors, he tells ESPN. With his retirement, he plans to enter the coaching space now that his playing career is done. pic.twitter.com/zJQtFSUqMb
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 1, 2023
JT Daniels had one of the most interesting and unique careers in college football history.
The former five-star recuit and National Gatorade Player of The Year won two state and a national title at Mater Dei (Calif) as he re-classyifed to the 2018 class as a junior.
The No. 2 quarterback and No. 6 overall player (per 247Sports) in the class of 2018, Daniels started immediately upon arrival, the second quarterback in USC history to be the opening-day starter as a true freshman. He played 11 of 12 games that season, with a 59.5 completion % on 363 passes for 2,672 yards with 14 TDs against 10 INTs.
After losing his job due to injury to Kedon Slovis he transferred to the Georgia Bulldogs, completing 67.2 percent of his 119 throws for 1,231 yards with 10 TDs against 2 picks in 2021.
The following season Daniels started against the Clemson Tigers but again lost his job to Stetson Bennett due to injury.
Daniels threw for 2,107 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions in one year at WVU. In his lone season as the starting quarterback at Rice, he led the Owls to their best record since 2015 and completed 181-of-287 pass attempts for 2,443 yards, 21 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in nine games.
He medically retired due to injuries with the main culprit being concussions, he is now a grad assistant for UWG.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football knows there is no more time for swings and misses
