A Further Word On Ricky Town

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Ricky Town’s commitment is the first five-star commitment for Steve Sarkisian. But in reality it proves something I’ve said even under Lane Kiffin: USC recruits USC. Town’s dream school was USC even though he committed to Alabama.

Some believe he would have come to USC even if Kiffin stayed as farfetched as that might seem. But once someone is in charge who will not be a disruptive presence (Sarkisian) it becomes even easier. USC is always going to land top recruits because it is USC.

That is why when you hear fans worry about recruiting during coaching searches, it often gets overblown.

120 thoughts on “A Further Word On Ricky Town”

  1. Typical Wolf, not giving Sark any credit. The kid was committed to Alabama. You think it’s hard to walk away from Nick Saban, no matter who the OC is? From what I’ve read, it sounds like Sark and staff did a masterful job of pitching their offensive system and philosophy to this kid.

    • SC is the greatest football power in the country as long as the coach doesn’t get in the way like Hackett and Kiffin did. Both recruited well early in their time at SC. Hackett recruited Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer. I give credit to Sarkiffian for spending time with the local golden boy Ricky Town and securing the commit. Good for him and great for SC. But rah rahs must realize this honeymoon era only lasts until September when the next season starts and Sarkiffian is proven under fire. If Sarkiffian fails he may not even be coaching here by the time Town redshirts and is ready to start.

      • You had Hackett and Kiffen and now you have Sarkiffen! The great thing is that you will never have to worry about Sarkiffen being lured away for another job since no one would want him, other than South Bay High School!

        • South Bay High School?
          Times must be getting tough when one has to resort to a stealth HS in an attempt to make a point.

        • Don’t forget you are a baldheaded ugly nerd with you obscure references. Must suck to be you, dork.

          • “Don’t forget you are a baldheaded ugly foul-mouthed nerd with your obscure references.”

            That fits Gargamel to a T, Reach Around… and the only dork here is the Gargamel rah-rah who shills under 3 different screen names

    • Thanks for providing the true insight into Town’s flip. Too bad “Mr. Inside USC” can’t get past his negativity to accurately report the news.

    • I think that the concepts you’re applying are correct. However, I think you are applying them too narrowly. Because there is better coaching
      and greater recruiting effort throughout the Pac-12, I do not expect USC to dominate recruiting as it has in the past.

      Look at the recruiting rankings among Pac-12 schools. They are bunched close together, even though Stanford and UCLA have only two more
      recruits than USC. and Oregon only one more.
      Moreover, Arizona’s ranking probably doesn’t reflect the strong incoming transfer students. ASU aggressively seeks transfers as well.

      Contrast that to Pete Carroll’s classes being ranked in the top 10, often top 5, with a total of 20 recruits or so.

      Television money has raised the Pac-12 level of coaching and facilities. In addition, the national trend of more underclassmen turning pro (more
      than 100 in 2014, up 250-300% from 2004) hurts the most talented teams relatively more. Furthermore, recruiting from afar is easier, and more top players each year go to college out of state (I read an article to that effect yesterday). Finally, recruits are more impatient and more savvy, and make “business decisions” to attend college where the depth chart looks favorable. Because of all these factors, I believe that the future, like the present, holds greater parity, and less of a talent edge for USC.

      That will add to the premium on good coaching, and put a concomitant premium on teaching and player development. We will see if the Sarkisian
      regime can deliver on those two premiums. Scott has suggested that the staff isn’t that great–and I’m not so sure about that. 🙂 But we WILL have to see.

    • They did and amazing Job…. St Bonns’ runs a Hybrid with similar concepts to Sark system…That really got his attention ….The idea of having a feel for the offense really sold the kid.

  2. Wolfman, face it southern cal has not been to a major bowl in what 10 yrs??

    TrOXans were not even in top25 prior to Kiff scaring this kid off.

    Are the trOXans officially giving up on Maxie??? No wonder he always has a long face!!

    • The national championship game was in 2006. Bucket’s math skills are as developed as his football analytic skills. Three Rose Bowls since the 2006 NC game are pretty decent Bowl games too.

      Bucket, try a new hobby. This one isn’t working out for you.

      • The best chance for UCLA was last year. No way they make it through a playoff system. They couldn’t handle Stanford or Oregon. Couldn’t finish against ASU. They could barely pass VT until pulling away in the fourth.

        • You’re probably right even with Hundley back – I’d say if they have little chance to get into the top 4 problem for UCLA is that they play both OR and Stanford as well as WA – esp. WA. No ‘drama’ lurking as an ‘in situ’ HC at the historcially most powerful conference member is sacked and speculation as to who will replace him – no – this means all programs have retooled their HC positions and Mora’s no longer a surprise.

          • They also play Texas on the road – which can be a mixed bag given how UT has played and the new coaching situation. Throw in a loss to Oregon and Stanford and their hopes dwindle.

            Plus, the surprise element, as you said, is gone. They are a young team and they rely on outlasting people into the third or fourth quarters and then roaring back. The problem is that when facing teams like Oregon, you simply cannot fall behind and expect to play catch up. Doesn’t work most of the time.

        • You knuckleheads didn’t play Oregon, lost to the Mighty Coug’s of Washington St., then got HAMMERED by UCLA (little boys in short pants) and a very WEAK Notre Dame team……What was your point again?
          fit Un!

          • USC could have lost every single game. That has absolutely nothing to do with whether UCLA can win through a playoff system. God, you’re dumb. What was your point? You didn’t have one? Okay, rah rah. Better luck next time.

          • STANFORD!!!!….So, what’s YOUR point?….Go see Dr. T Bone, that Dementia is out of control

    • USC won the 2009 Rose Bowl, and the 2008 and 2007 Rose Bowls as well. That is 5 years ago, not 10. You’re not so good at math huh?

      Public School hasn’t won a Rose Bowl since 1986, 28 years ago. Public school hasn’t even been to a major bowl since 1999 (which they lost). Public school’s bowl record is 4 wins and 7 losses since the year 2000, while playing in bullshit bowl games.

      Town is just the beginning. The 2015 class will be #1 or #2 in the country. USC is, and always will be, USC.

      • Since 1940, SUCC’s Men’s Basketball team is 11 – 19 in the NCAA tournament. UCLA, since 1950, is 99 – 38 in the NCAA tournament. Fight on SUCC.

        • Wow, you must have the IQ of a hamster. You are attempting to make an blended argument with basketball and football?? We are talking football right now. That’s it. You seem to think your public school football program is on par with USC, and that is laughable. As far as basketball, USC has had potential but never sustained it, while UCLA has a great tradition in that sport, but hasn’t done anything recently. But again, we are talking football, and in football public school can not touch USC. Rosen is not stupid enough to go to public school….trust me, they have no chance to land him…..he requires a 100 yard practice field….hahaha sucks to be a public school I’m sure.

        • You’re comparing two different sports to make… what point ? By your idiotic theory …. That’s like saying had Babe Ruth played in a little league field he would have hit 2000 HRs.. which would make him far superior to Wayne Gretzky !!!

          • My point is fairly straight forward 86. An average third grader could grasp the FB/BB comparison. You, on the other hand, remind me of a drunk who can’t figure out how to step off a curb.

          • I know you’re trying to take our worst sport … Basketball and I guess compare it to your schools worst sport Football ? and Say ” See where good too !” Right ? LMFAO … you just made our point for us you Donkey ….. Our floor your ceiling…. i Guess you must be a Second Grader !!!!

          • 86, UCLA is a much better FB University then SUCC is a Basketball University. As I said 86, it’s a concept an average third grader can grasp.

          • Not by your “Concept ” … If you have to use another sport to hide how bad you are at one particular sport ….Well, enough said…. I guess it’s easy to try and fool a third grader … better luck at the Elementary schools … I bet they would questions your Concept !!!!

          • 99.9 % of the talk on this blog is about football. When you bring up basketball you sound like a confused idiot that has trouble stepping off the curb

        • Every time you get backed into a corner you change the subject. Stay on the porch, it’s your true calling

    • You’re talking about the GALA bowl, right? We really don’t keep up with that stuff, so you’d have to educate us. Then again, please don’t.

    • C’mon Wolf. This is just the fomenting of hostility in an effort to get traffic. You know as well as I do that we beat Penn St., at the Jan 2009 Rosebowl. Let me count on my fingey’s….. That’s what, 5 or 6 seasons ago?

      Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes with your ” traffic.”

    • Wow Crotch Boy. Could you be more wrong? Please go back to kindergarten, or whenever you were schooled to actually learn how to count. True Little Gutty brain power!

    • Get your facts straight, that Dementia has you all screwed up. The 9mm is the only choice

  3. Positive results? USC gets the credit. Negative results? Sark’s fault. Quality reportage…

  4. Off topic news: WeAreUSC is reporting that Town’s teammate Dixon is a lock and will not take anymore visits. Nunnery is still reportedly a part of the packaged deal.

  5. Yea, sorry UCLA trolls. Dixon just announced he’s done with recruiting and UCLA can pound sand. If we had 25 rides ruins would have nothing. Next year Ruins will be back to dreaming of what could of been

      • Compete for what ? Getting ignored by your OC that doesn’t utilize his TE ? He doesn’t …TE isn’t a major part of his offensive philosophy …it’s just not ,look at your TE stats since Mazzone been at UCLA. I’m not putting you guys down, it’s just fact … Doesn’t make Mazzone Right or Wrong …Hey look… it’s been working so far Right ? So why take a shot at a Kid looking of the best situation for his Development of Making the League…. Every coach is saying the same thing to your 2015 Commit Alize from Bishop Gorman.

      • He wasn’t a competitor like you on a Trojan Board? Typical troll response when they lose.

  6. Poor Wolf can’t seem to make up his mind. Just yesterday, he has a headline that Commitments Mean Nothing. And 1 day later, celebrating the commitment of Ricky Town and also mentions the recruiting of Josh Rosen. Both of these commits are over a year away from ink to paper. That being said, getting the commitment of a top QB for any school helps attract other players, so not meaningless at all.

    However, the recruiting doesn’t stop until the LOI is signed and faxed.

      • I saw a TV ad for the new Lego movie coming out…sounds like something right up your alley. I am sure the dialogue won’t be too confusing for you.

        • So funny Gilbert U. Since this is a USC blog, pray tell. Are they laughing at me or you?

          • Must have graduated before they raised their academic standards.

            You have one recurring theme and thought process. Nobody is laughing at you, not even me. More like pity.

            By the way…you love to say Gilbert all the time…very cute. He has been dead for years. Answer one question. Who is the 2nd most penalized football team in NCAA history? SMU is 1st.

          • You’re a gang of 1 Gilbert. We’re all laughing at you and your desperate need for attention and interaction from us. It’s a tremendous compliment. Proves how relevant we are and how irrelevant….well.

          • Mora the same over and over again…blah, blah, blah. I hope you don’t waste too much time on this…maybe just save your stupidity and cut and paste the responses.

          • Demented idiot trolling around in an Alcindor special….Quite the visual!

            The thing has turned a chocolate brown, pathetic!

    • I agree to an extent , but come on… if he committed to UCLA… you’d be gloating like a S.O.B on here!!!!

      • Yes 86 that is true, if UCLA would have flipped him. Flipping Dixon would have been devastating to Sark. So, in order to prevent a Dixon flip, SUCC is willing (forced?) to accept Dixon’s FB friend in a twofer LOI to prevent Dixon’s going elsewhere. SUCC hilariously Fights On.

        • Time out … you guys were going to give his friend a scholarship if you had one left over … thats why he planned a trip to UCLA…. we never promised him that or suggested it cause of the limitations…

          • But that is precisely what Sark is going to do. Dixon’s friend gets a PWO spot. SUCC could not stand losing Dixon to UCLA. The PR problem would have reverberated into negative Alumnus donations. Hey, the mausoleum need renovation.

      • I am not much for gloating overall and even leas so until the ink is dry. I think it would be great for the rivalry to have Town at SC and Rosen at UCLA. Tired of seeing these kids head off to the SEC. I am very happy with our staff and they are very competitive at recruiting. SC will always get good players as long as they are being coached well. If the coaching staff is not developing the players well, then that can change things, see UCLA basketball for a recent example of losing players.

        In general, LA is a great place to go to school and attractive for out of state players as well. USC is established and yet UCLA still has plenty to offer as well. The next few years should have some interesting recruiting battles.

        • Agree … Having both schools on it’s “A game” is great not only for the Rivalry but for The conference…. Two powerhouse schools in LA would finally show the SEC who has the best football…. The sec is good, but I’ve always questioned it when a UW or OSU go to the house of a top SEC team and lose on a last second field goal…. I’m rooting for Rosen to UCLA …I really am. It would make for a Great Rivalry of QB… cause Town and Rosen are 1 and 1a…. Can’t go wrong with either one… But with both of Rosen Parents IVY league grads …. Stanford has a Shot at getting that kid.

          • Of course Stanford has a shot. It’s a long ways off and you never know how any of these kids develop, but it is an entertaining debate in the meantime.

            Could be another interesting use of the term…”we own this town” on the horizon.

          • Well I’m glad you get the ” We own this Town” … and yes interesting is better word to use with these Teenagers flip flopping like a fish out of water.

    • Plus one. Scott has waffled, and so do prospects. No need to go up in a balloon.

      As to a top QB commitment attracting other commitments, those commitments will be just as meaningless.

      What will be meaningful is how well USC plays next year, and how well-coached the team seems to be.

      And it will be equally meaningful how well UCLA plays. I follow USC, and have for many years. But the fact is that the monopoly DOES look to be over. That can change, but right now, that’s how it looks to me.

      • Opinions are like as$holes everyone has one, but apparently, wolf has more than one as$hole

  7. SC’s class next year will be around 30 players because you gotta figure some players bolt early, no?

  8. We all know that the USC game is the bRuins’ bowl game because they never make it to the big time bowls.

    • we both know that you clowns don’t consider it a successful season unless you beat the bruins and nd. better luck next year, <3

  9. You are wrong again Scottie. Recruiting is a combination of school, coaching and effort. Before Pete Carroll joined, USC had some very average recruiting classes. Then they were strong in school, coaching and effort. Towards the end of Carroll’s tenure the recruiting went down – likely due to the coaching talent declined and the recruiting effort declined. With Sark, I believe the coaching talent is back up and the recruiting effort of the staff is high. Your comments that USC recruits itself show severe lack of football understanding.

    • Only Pete Carroll first cLass was out of the top 10 …. And considering after the 2004 cLass rarely took more than 20 recruits

    • Agree, Helen. You’d have a happy coaching staff in Westwood if Sark and Co. believed all they had to do was sit back and wait for the recruits to beat down their door, simply because they work at USC. Every coaching staff has to bust butt to land and keep the best recruits–just ask Nick Saban.

  10. Apparently Sark never called Rosen from what people are reporting. He was all in on Town and told him he was the number one choice.

    • Time will tell if Sark made the right choice. But what he did do right was choose one QB per year. I hope USC never brings in two QBs in the same year as one will end up leaving the program when they don’t win the starting role. And Sills was not Sark’s choice and certainly USC will drop him in the next few days as certain as Scottie will visit Five Guys tonight.

      • I actually like Rosen better. He has better wheels, in my opinion. I know there are questions about St. Bonaventure’s lack of quality schedule and whether Rosen can play well minus an elite supporting cast. As you said, time will tell.

        • Commitment from Town was pretty crucial in locking up Dixon as well. Rosen was a longer shot for Sark to get. I am sure they are both excellent QB’s. We will see in a few years.

          • Pat Gilbert U on the back. He needs a hug from us. Seems that none of his kind care about his identification of the obvious so we benefit from his neediness. Thanks Captain Rhetorical.

          • There are plenty of intelligent Trojans that don’t mind a reasonable discussion about the respective football teams. And then, there is you, cruising along on the short bus of life.

          • It sure didn’t Hurt and agree only time will tell.. Browne may start for the Next three years

          • I do recall Rosen stating a preference for Stanford. Frankly, I don’t think that UCLA is out of the recruitment of Town or Rosen. UCLA is the Pac-12 South favorite next year, and Hundley will leave after 2014, and perhaps leave as a first-round NFL pick. If you were the #1 or #2 national QB prospect, wouldn’t you consider UCLA?

            Depending on who ends up at QB next year for USC, and how well the team plays, a lot of things could change.

            For that reason, I’m more interested in what Sark’s offense really is and really needs in a QB, rather than whether a 17-year-old high school kid thinks at this time that he would like to attend USC.

            Kiffin was right–it’s pretty meaningless in 2014, if it was ever meaningful regarding a junior in h.s.

  11. Using the term “public school” is really an insult. Let’s see…in the last few years you have lost to Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona State and UCLA. ALL public schools.

    Such and elitist arrogant tool of a Porsche you are….you know the difference between a Porsche and a porcupine? A porcupine has it’s
    p r i c k s on the outside.

    • If you want respect then show some respect. Because right now you sound like a phucking idiot

      • Respect is mutual and earned. Putting down all public schools as inferior is elitist and shows a d-bag mentality. My comments were a response to the insult…not the initial insult. Porsche boy needs to learn a few lessons.

    • Funny, but USC’s all-time record against all these “public schools” is overwhelming and lopsidedly favoring the Trojans. Nobody in the entire Pac-12 comes even close to handling the Trojans one-on-one. We OWN you all. Were it not for the NCAA, these recent losses may well have never occurred. You “public schools” have finally managed to win a few against us now, but only because of the NCAA. But UCLA still can’t beat Stanford or Oregon, schools which have repeatedly drubbed the little gutties under Mora. What’s your excuse? I know. There’s always next year.

  12. Oh…and by the way P-Bag….regarding public school you may want to note certain things…

    USC does have a fine Law School, however it is rated behind UCLA Law.

    Also, the Marshall School of Business is a fine institution, just not ranked as highly as the Anderson School of Business at UCLA.

    And finally, USC Keck Medical is outstanding as well, but alas rated slightly behind that “public” institution, UCLA.

    What we have are 2 fine Universities. You may want to actually do a little research and not be such an ignoramus with idiotic and inaccurate representations.

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