This Friday is the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Championship game that will feature the Mater Dei vs St. John Bosco at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It has been well documented that the USC Trojans and head coach Lincoln Riley have not put a big emphasis on recruiting in So Cal. Will he be in attendance for this incredible matchup?
USC Recruiting: Mater Dei Vs St. John Bosco On Friday – Will USC Trojans Be In Attendance?
Bosco beat Mater Dei in the regular season matchup, winning 28-0 and handing the Monarchs their first shutout loss since 2011.
Since 2016, an intense rivalry has unfolded in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship with St. John Bosco and Mater Dei taking the stage six times. Claiming victory in the last two encounters, St. John Bosco proved their mettle by defeating Mater Dei 24-22 in a nail-biting showdown during last year’s championship – shattering the Monarch’s formidable 29-game winning streak.
The Braves triumphed in 2016, 2019, and most recently in 2022. However, the Monarchs showcased their prowess and claimed victory in 2017 and 2018. Mater Dei demonstrated their dominance once again in 2021, overpowering Servite (Anaheim) by a score of 27-7.
USC has long had a storied pipeline with Mater Dei, specifically, but that has dried up as late. Most of this has had to do with the mediocrity of the program over the past decade. But now Lincoln Riley is tasked with building that pipeline back up, a task that he has said is a priority, but based on the current recruiting class, doesn’t appear to be a huge priority yet.
When asked about recruiting locally a few weeks ago, Lincoln Riley had this to say:
And um, as far as, you know, recruiting, whether it be national or local, I mean, to me it’s kind of all in the same. It’s how do you build the best roster you can of the guys that are available to go recruit. Um, ’cause at the end of the day, you go win the national championship and you have a roster mixed from all over the country, nobody’s gonna say, oh, well, you know, that’s great you won the national championship, but you don’t have a bunch of, you don’t have 80% local guys.
You can read the full response here.
USC Recruiting: Pipeline Returning?
The USC Trojans 2024 recruiting class is currently ranked 18th in the country, according to On3, and the class is made up of 17 total commits. Of those 17 commits, currently only one is from either Mater Dei or St. John Bosco. Marcelles Williams is a 4-star cornerback out of Bosco.
This game between Mater Dei and St. John Bosco features 19 sought-after players for 2024.
Mater Dei:
Aydin Breland, 5-Star DL – Oregon
Brandon Baker, 5-Star OT – Texas
Zabien Brown – 4-Star CB – Alabama
DeAndre Carter – 4-Star OT – Auburn
Elijah Brown – 4-Star QB – Stanford
Nate Frazier – 4-Star RB – Georgia
Nasir Wyatt – 4-Star LB (2025) – Uncommitted, USC has offered
Daryus Dixson – 4-Star CB (2025) – Uncommitted, USC has offered
Jordon Davison – 4-Star RB (2025) – Uncommitted, USC has offered
Marcus Harris – 4-Star WR (2025) – Uncommitted, No offer
Chuck McDonald – 4-Star CB (2025) – Uncommitted, USC has offered
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt – WR (2026) – Uncommitted, No offer
St. John Bosco:
Marcelles Williams – 4-Star CB – Committed to USC
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa – 4-Star LB – Notre Dame
Peyton Woodyard – 4-Star S – Alabama
Jason Mitchell – 3-Star S – Uncommitted, USC has offered
Tay Lockett – DB (2026) – Arkansas
Madden Williams – WR (2026) – Uncommitted, No offer
Daniel Odom – WR (2026) – Uncommitted, No offer
Dutch Horisk – EDGE (2026) – Uncommitted, US has offered
Of the 2024 class, only one player, Jason Mitchell is uncommitted. USC has offered him, so we will see if he makes a decision after the big game on Friday.
USC is still currently without a Defensive Coordinator. Hiring one before this game could actually aid in potentially flipping some commits. We will see if they are able to get that done over the next 48 hours, but regardless, Lincoln Riley should be in attendance for this one, especially considering it is being played in his home stadium.