LOS ANGELES — When the calendar flips to an odd year, like clockwork, a new blue-chip heir to Lincoln Riley’s quarterback throne comes to his room – first across the Red River, then marching through the streets of Troy.
In 2019, it was Arizona’s Spencer Rattler. In 2021, it was a kid out of the East Coast’s DMV area by the name of Caleb Williams. In 2023, it was Los Alamitos’ Malachi Nelson, Riley’s first get at USC. One QB recruit, and only one, every two years. None in the even years.
“It just seems like that’s his pattern,” said Danny Hernandez, a local QB guru who’s worked with everyone from Williams to Nelson to Miller Moss, “and I don’t see why he would stray from that.”
The pattern, though, was thrown astray when Nelson hit the transfer portal after a quiet freshman season throwing on the scout team at USC, a move Riley himself acknowledged in late December was “a little unexpected.” Even as Riley brought in sophomore UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava to help fill the ’23 void behind Moss, Nelson’s departure placed a massive importance on the class of 2025 to realign USC’s quarterback future.
In January, the solution seemingly became cemented, as long-committed Georgia quarterback Julian Lewis reclassified from 2026 to 2025 after an ongoing conversation with Riley.
But a long four months remain until the early National Signing Day, and Lewis – despite every public indication he remains tied to USC – has yet to officially shut down his recruitment.
“That point will come,” father T.C. told the Southern California News Group in July. But it hasn’t come, even as Lewis kicks off his junior-turned-senior season Friday with Carrollton High.
His decision has become the story of the summer, constant fodder for national recruiting services to materialize a potential flip. Lewis made a highly publicized visit to Indiana at the start of June. He made a highly publicized visit to Auburn in mid-June. He made a most-highly publicized visit to Colorado at the end of June. All along, his father has maintained – and talked with Riley, he told the SCNG in July – that it’s done in the interest of building relationships amid an impossible-to-predict era of change in collegiate football.
But to think Lewis’ decision didn’t have anything to do with NIL, as most every recruit’s decision does in modern times, was “pretty naive of us,” said Hernandez, Lewis’ Southern California trainer.
“That’s where certain programs that maybe didn’t have a chance before,” Hernandez said, “are going to give themselves an opportunity to at least be in the mix.”
As Lewis’ decision still hangs over USC, multiple sources told the Southern California News Group that USC had made a sustained push in recent weeks for 2025 Corona Centennial High quarterback Husan Longstreet, who’s been committed to Texas A&M since the spring. A source with knowledge of the situation told the SCNG that two USC assistants – quarterbacks coach Luke Huard and outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons – had seen Longstreet throw in the spring.
Longstreet’s father Kevin said his son, who transferred to Centennial after leading Inglewood High to a 13-1 record in 2022, had always “had interest in USC.”
“It seemed like they were prepared for this moment for him,” the source said, “and Lincoln Riley was at the head of everything, so – he was the one that kind of came after him.”
Kevin Longstreet, however, told the SCNG that his son had mainly talked with Huard, and indicated it was highly unlikely he’d flip from Texas A&M. The presence of another committed quarterback, Kevin Longstreet said, had pushed his son away from USC. Still, though, the father left the door cracked ever so slightly.
“It’s hard for him to decommit … he’s one of those types,” Kevin Longstreet said. “But, the fact that he really enjoys the leadership at USC – I mean, you never know. I think that, it’d be hard for him knowing who he is and how he does things. He’s all, he’s focused on Texas A&M.”
It’s an added intrigue to USC’s 2025 plans, as Riley told reporters last Friday it was “highly unlikely” he’d take two quarterbacks in a single recruiting class. The program, however, still appears primarily focused on securing Lewis’ commitment. A source with knowledge of USC’s NIL operations told the Southern California News Group that collective House of Victory had sent an updated contract for review to Lewis, with the total value increased “significantly” from a number previously offered.
It would be a massive commitment for USC in continuing a growing momentum behind House of Victory and setting Riley’s quarterback path straight after Nelson’s departure.
T.C. Lewis affirmed in the spring that his son anticipated he’d develop for two years behind Nelson before taking the reins at USC. But Nelson, Hernandez said, had surgery right when he’d arrived on campus his freshman year, and was playing “catch-up.” Moss had established himself as Williams’ backup, and USC hosted Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard for a visit when Nelson was still on the roster.
“You kind of see the writing on the wall,” Hernandez said about Nelson, “and just feel like, ‘OK, I don’t see a ton of light at the end of the tunnel for me in this second year.’”
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Maiava’s arrival from UNLV, in some way, has since replaced the plan for Nelson, a young signal-caller pushing Moss for USC’s starting job this fall. And the every-odd-year mold is set up for Riley, if he secures a quarterback in 2025. Hernandez also trains 2026 quarterback Ryder Lyons, a five-star Folsom product who’s been heavily tied to USC and is likely to embark on a mission – similar to brother and current Trojan Walker Lyons – and reclassify to 2027, Hernandez said.
For now, the pattern hinges on Lewis.
“If that number is able to be where they agreed on,” Hernandez said of USC’s NIL discussions with Lewis, “I don’t see why Julian would look elsewhere, to be honest with you.”