Troy Polamalu helps Lincoln Riley on USC official visit weekend
The USC Trojans would love to keep an elite linebacker at home in Southern California.
St. John Bosco four-star linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa is a prime target for Lincoln Riley and the Trojans. They don’t want him to go to Ohio State or Notre Dame, the other two schools the Trojans are battling in this recruitment.
Viliamu-Asa made his official visit to USC over the past weekend. Riley, knowing that USC football owns a restored brand and has regained a substantial amount of credibility over the past 18 months, called on a Trojan legend to meet with Viliamu-Asa.
You might recognize him.
Yep, that’s Troy Polamalu, one of USC’s all-time greatest players, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame two years ago, in 2021.
Polamalu is an important figure in USC history because he was a connective player who formed a bridge to the Pete Carroll era and starred in the first immensely successful season of Carroll’s tenure, the 2002 campaign which produced a Heisman Trophy winner (Carson Palmer) and a resounding Orange Bowl win over future Big Ten neighbor Iowa.
One point to emphasize about Polamalu being invited to help recruit USC targets: If USC was coming off a 7-5 or 8-4 season, calling on the big guns on big recruiting weekends might come off as desperation.
This is what winning 11 games does: It shows that USC is truly back. Everything about this simply feels right in a way that wouldn’t apply if the Trojans were still immersed in Clay Helton-level mediocrity.
👀✌🏻 pic.twitter.com/Le076ZfkIf
— Arrogant Nation✌🏻 (@FightOnRusty) June 11, 2023
Has Polamalu’s involvement made an impact? We don’t yet know if it’s enough to close the deal, but it does seem to have provided a small nudge in the right direction based on early reaction from recruiting analysts:
It sounds like the race for Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa got a whole lot tighter following his weekend official visit to #USC https://t.co/Of6jm90b5p pic.twitter.com/iBKq6dw2iJ
— Greg Biggins (@GregBiggins) June 12, 2023
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