The news that Lincoln Riley has accepted the head-coaching position at USC has already reverberated in the college football recruiting sphere, with ESPN 300 running back and Oklahoma commit Raleek Brown telling ESPN that Riley’s relocation will impact his recruitment.
“That changes everything,” Brown said Sunday after ESPN and other outlets reported that Riley would replace Clay Helton at USC after four seasons with Oklahoma. “I had a good relationship with all [the Oklahoma coaches], so that will really change everything.”
Brown is the No. 60-ranked prospect overall and the No. 2 recruit in California, according to ESPN. He’s a 5-foot-7, 170-pound back from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, and has been committed to Oklahoma since February of this year.
USC had been a school of interest for Brown before he chose Oklahoma, but similar to other California recruits as of late, he chose to go out of state.
USC has signed only 30 of the 143 ESPN 300 recruits from California over the past five recruiting cycles, but Brown believes Riley coming to USC could stop that trend in its tracks.
“It’s exciting news for everybody,” Brown told ESPN. “He’s a great head coach, you could just tell what he was doing at Oklahoma. So, this is a big step for USC, and I think he’s going to bring it back to what it was — packed stadiums and all that.”
Brown is one of four class of 2022 and ’23 recruits from California who is committed to Oklahoma. He’s joined by five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson, ranked No. 3 in the ESPN Junior 300 for the class of 2023, and Nelson’s teammates DeAndre Moore Jr. and Makai Lemon, both ESPN Jr. 300 receivers.
Lemon posted an ambiguous tweet after the Riley news surfaced, writing, “hmmm,” but has not commented on his commitment status.
Nelson and Moore have also not commented on the hire or if it impacts their recruitment.
Oklahoma currently has 11 ESPN 300 commitments in the 2022 class with a little over a week remaining until the early signing period.