USC gets another local cornerback commit in Loyola sophomore Brandon Lockhart

As USC has seemingly shied away from local prospects in the recruiting world over the last year — with just five of 16 commits in their class of 2024 coming from California — head coach Lincoln Riley made the point on Thursday that USC isn’t simply going to recruit in-state to recruit in-state.

“We want to get California kids, we want to get local kids; we want them to be the right kids, the right kind of kids, the right kind of students, the right kind of players that fit within what we’re building,” Riley said. “Not ones that go against the grain of what we’re building.”

Of those five, three are defensive backs, as USC and defensive backs coach Donte Williams appear to be tapping Southern California hard in search of program depth. And Williams got another major win on Saturday, as Loyola High’s 2026 cornerback Brandon Lockhart announced his commitment to USC via social media Sunday, in partnership with On3.

Lockhart is widely regarded as the top cornerback in the class of ’26, adding to an already-impressive class coming in a couple years for USC with the commitment of Georgia quarterback Julian Lewis. Lockhart’s recorded 28 tackles and a pick through eight games for Loyola this year, according to MaxPreps.

After being largely stagnant in Southern California since the summer, Williams has generated some momentum in SoCal recruiting now for USC, landing Los Alamitos cornerback Isaiah Rubin on Oct. 20. And the Trojans’ struggles defensively this season, under coordinator Alex Grinch’s regime, don’t seem to be scaring off some of the top prospects in the area.

“Obviously, I see it all,” USC 2024 safety commit Marquis Gallegos said on Oct. 20, talking about the criticism of the Trojans’ defense. “But it’s not something I’m really worried about right now … I trust them, and that’ll never change.”