lincoln riley: Lincoln Riley's USC recruiting plans see back-to-back successes

Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans got a couple of good updates on Friday. With Jaimeon Winfield shutting down recruiting and cornerback RJ Sermons reportedly reclassifying for the Class of 2025, the Trojans' outlook for the future looks promising.

First, USC's 2026 class commit, Winfield, announced he will shut down recruiting, meaning no other team can actively try to sway the four-star defensive lineman away from Southern Cal.

Lincoln Riley shared Jaimeon Winfield's recruiting shutdown on an Instagram story. - Source: Instagram/@lincolnriley

Winfield is considered the No. 10 defensive lineman in the class according to 247Sports' composite ranking. He is part of USC's top-ranked Class of 2026.

As for cornerback RJ Sermons, Lincoln Riley will be getting the four-star cornerback from Rancho Cucamonga, California, a year earlier than expected. Sermons is now considered the No. 17 cornerback in the 2025 class.

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Sermons' father, Rodney, also played for USC. As for RJ, he will be joining a secondary that lost five players from last season, perhaps opening up a possibility to see some playing time in his freshman season.

Riley and the Trojans will look to bounce back in 2025 after finishing 7-6 and a Las Vegas Bowl win over Texas A&M in the program's first year in the Big Ten.

After leading Southern Cal to an 11-3 record in 2022, the team has taken a step back each of the past two seasons, finishing with an 8-5 record in 2023 before having one fewer win last year.

The Trojans are still considered to be a step below the top programs in the conference, but Riley is getting more talent for the next few seasons.

Lincoln Riley shares thoughts on rivalries in modern college football

With the USC-Notre Dame rivalry potentially hitting a snag after this season, Lincoln Riley talked about the changes in college football on the "Always College Football" show on Thursday.

"It was more of a regional game," Riley said. "You had regional matchups. I mean, that's what we all grew up and we loved and were passionate about it. And I think it's okay to still hang on to some of those. ... What's changed now is it's become a more national game. These conferences have changed. It's created matchups that we maybe would have never thought of."

According to reports, USC would only extend the current contract to play Notre Dame by one season, at least at the moment, while the Fighting Irish would be looking for a new long-term contract.

Notre Dame and USC have faced each other 95 times since 1924, making it one of the longest-standing annual games in college football.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

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Edited by Ribin Peter