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USC Trojans

Former USC stars jab football program over poor recruiting rankings

By Ryan Gaydos Fox News
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Former USC football stars were shocked Wednesday to learn where the Trojans' recruiting class was ranked despite coach Clay Helton calling the start of the early signing period a “good day.”

Former quarterback Matt Leinart was among the former USC stars who took shots at the program for the poor recruiting effort. USC finished with the worst recruiting class in the Pac-12 and ranked No. 78 in the nation, according to 247Sports. Tulane, Toledo and Northern Illinois are just some of the schools that are ranked above the 11-time national champions.

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Leinart expressed his frustration on social media.

“Oregon is the new Usc in recruiting on the West Coast... back in my day no one dared to recruit So Cal. Now it’s open season and Oregon is hunting!” Leinart tweeted.

Former USC coach Lane Kiffin responded to Leinart’s tweet with a crying emoji.

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Former USC safety Taylor Mays added that the recruiting rankings were “embarrassing.”

Five-star quarterback recruit D.J. Uiagalelei, who grew up a Trojans fan, offered a telling sign into USC’s recruiting process in an interview with The Show LA earlier this week.

“They just didn’t really recruit me how a lot of other schools was,” Uiagalelei said. “I just ended up not going there and choosing a different school.”

That school was Clemson.

Nonetheless, Helton said Wednesday that the team’s needs were filled and that the rankings don’t really matter.

“We had a very good day today that we’re very happy about,” he said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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He added: “I’m not necessarily about perception. I’m about wins and how to produce the best football team. You have to worry maybe not about popular opinion and address what your needs are.”