USC’s recruiting turnaround is one for the books. Lincoln Riley is busy navigating a make-or-break year as the Trojans HC. It’s not just the Riley factor that’s attracting prospects in-state and from around the country as well. USC currently sits at the top in the 2026 class, having 31 total commits. The latest prospect to join Riley’s 2026 squad raves about the one special man at USC, who’s the big reason for this change. Chad Bowden seems to have been an important factor behind this elite WR’s decision.
Lincoln Riley is 14 places up in the rankings with his 2026 class compared to his 2025 one. Coincidentally, this shift is after the arrival of Chad Bowden, the current GM of the Trojans. He has forced a change in USC’s recruiting philosophy, and because of that, Riley’s squad has 31 total commits, of which 68% are blue-chippers. 4-star WR Ethan ‘Boobie’ Feaster out of Texas was charmed by Bowden and USC’s push for him, and he pledged his commitment to the Trojans on July 4th. The GM struck a bond with his parent, which proved to be influential in pushing Feaster towards USC.
He told WeAreSC in a July 4 video, “That’s my guy. He real cool, my papa really enjoyed him. They’re not from the same area, but my papa stayed in a little area that Chad is very familiar with, so they had a little bond, and he’s real cool. My parents enjoyed him, just being around him, just as a person. Not just for his job description, but for just being around him as a person. They really did enjoy him.” Feaster reclassified out of the 2027 class to join the 2026 one. He is a phenom in DeSoto, having tallied 84 catches for 1,458 yards and 22 TDs in the past two seasons.
BREAKING Elite WR Boobie Feaster has committed to USC
Boobie is the No. 5 WR in the 2026 class.
Read: https://t.co/iHz891l1AV pic.twitter.com/nqWSSWCtGV
— Rivals (@Rivals) July 4, 2025
Chad Bowden’s arrival has led to USC having a Top 5 class for the first time since 2018. His recruiting strategy, which focuses on recruiting Californian talents first, is ringing far and wide in the state. Out of his 31 commits, 17 are in-state recruits. Bowden has locked down the state for USC, and his successes are leading more and more prospects to give USC a second thought. USC’s DC, D’Anton Lynn, also acknowledged the impact the GM has brought to the program.
Chad Bowden is USC’s most influential hire in recent times
Lincoln Riley had finished with a Top-10 class once in his USC stint, in 2023. Since then, Riley’s career has taken a significant downturn. But Chad Bowden’s arrival has taken some pressure off of him. D’Anton Lynn told ESPN LA Radio, “I feel like with the new general manager Chad [Bowden] and the scouting department being aligned with the coaching staff, we’ve been able to go after not just talent but going after the right type of kids that we want in this program. You look at every single kid in that class, these are all kids you are super excited to coach.”
Riley is the biggest beneficiary of Chad Bowden’s hire. The GM was last at Notre Dame, and his turnaround of Fighting Irish recruiting led Marcus Freeman to appear at the National Championship last season. “[With] Bowden’s help, Freeman assembled more talented rosters in recent years than Notre Dame had been able to field in the prior decade,” Andy Staples wrote for On3. Recruiting has been an avenue where Riley has struggled. And within months of Bowden’s arrival, USC seems like a new program on the recruiting front.
Feaster is just one of many talents who rave about Chad Bowden being the game-changing element of their recruiting. With Bowden’s skills, can Riley put together a team capable of replicating Notre Dame’s success under the GM?
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