Unlike ND, they have a means to fill in recruiting holes after the fact. They will not have a ND circa 2007 problem where they are 20 players down and almost devoid of all Sr and 5th year Sr players.

It will not be as good for them as having signed the recruits they originally had, but there are a lot of juco players that walk in the door ready to play SO and JR year to fill in holes for them.

that they are allowed to sign. ND would be screwed. If we signed 9, that's all we would have. If we were lucky we'd find 1 or 2 from Northwestern or something to transfer in over time. USC will sign 6 juco payers to replace the 6 that they came up short down the stretch in this class.

This doesn't mean they will be as good as they would have been sans losing all the 5 star recruits, but those thinking USC will face a ND type situation in 2007 because they signed less than their max in this class are fooling themselves. They have options we never had.

Above said, as long as LK is there, the odds are they will suck no matter how many players of any quality they have. This whole argument really is meant for the new coach that starts in 2014 and what his team will be in 2015 and 2016 because of this failed recruiting class down the stretch.

keep out of the hands of coaches that know how to utlize it

The USC Era is over. There was a last gasp in 2011 that masked its death. But it is dead. Gone where the goblins go, below, below, below!

Everything I've read down here thinks that Ky will land him. How bad must things be at SC that a kid would rather go to a perennial underachiever than go to southern cal?

the EE's are going to feel like suckers.

once they start classes they would need to be released or pay their own way for a year (and sit out regardless).

I may be mistaken.

The team is lead by a sociopath who can't coach. They could sign the top 18 players in the nation and it's not going to matter.

What the next coach inherits does matter, to a certain extent. However, with SC, it probably doesn't matter too much. SC is never lacking talent (of any kind).

I hope for a long Kiffin tenure.

We need to make hay while the sun shines.

Haden is going to tell us all we need to know with the hiring of the next basketball coach. This is his make or break hire. We alumni have just about had it with him and this will either be his saving grace or the nail in his coffin.

No school is immune to having a run of crappy coaches.