College Football in California: Where Has The Homegrown Talent Gone?

There was a time where the University of Southern California, or USC as most people know them, dominated the college football world. Let’s face it, you either loved them or hated them during that period of time.

Me personally, I won’t get into that, my list of complaints about them is endless. Let’s just say there were many hard feelings that still linger all these years later. If you were to rewind back to the early 2000s there simply was no team that matched the Trojans talent level and their ability to scare the life out of any fanbase in College Football. They were big, strong fast, and extremely talented.

The 2004 USC Trojan team is considered one of the best ever and the 2005 team, if it wasnt for Vince Young, was not too far behind. There was a mix of players from all across the USA on those squads but no two were talked about more than Matt Leinhart and Reggie Bush. Naturally being from Southern California and with USC’s hiring of Pete Carroll in 2001 which changed the team’ trajectory, it was a no brainer.

Fast forward to the modern era of college football with the NIL money and conference realignment, would this still be the case? Where has has all the homegrown talent gone?  California high school football recruits don’t seem to feel that way anymore.

What Went Wrong?

Before realignment and NIL money flying all over the place,  most football players coming out of high school looked to stay within the confines of their hometown state. Marshawn Lynch and Desean Jackson both attended Cal, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Su’a Cravens USC, John Elway and Toby Gerhart Stanford.

These guys were absolute studs during their playing days at the collegiate level, some faired better than others in the NFL, but it makes you wonder, what if NIL money was involved when they were in college?

That’s not to say money hasn’t been exchanging hands for decades, just ask SMU during their dominance in the 80’s, but that practice is now legal and college athletes are now considered “professionals”. As the SEC and Big Ten conferences have become the top dogs in the new conference realignments, the richness of high school talent across the country has shifted to the bigger markets as well. No longer are top recruits staying home when they once were just 10-20 years ago.

Times have changed, we just have to learn to live with it. When it comes to high school football in the state of California however, top recruits are no longer willing to stay in their own backyard anymore. Is it the money? Maybe, that’s part of it, but other factors have come into play.

Is the Lure of the South too strong?

Alabama, Georgia, LSU all land in the top 5 for recruiting classes for the 2025 season. Pretty much status quo at this point that the SEC is king. Obviously Michigan won the title last year but the SEC still reigns supreme. Every game in the SEC is a battle.

Even Alabama found out the hard way when they were somehow, someway upset by Vanderbilt. Is that any indication that the SEC may indeed grow stronger as a conference? That is a scary thought. For recruits in California, not only the NIL money, but the national exposure of the SEC is too much to pass up. Najee Harris was a star in high school at Antioch High School in Antioch, CA before settling nicely in Tuscaloosa. Let’s look at Najee’s point of view for a second.

A chance to play on a national stage, compete for a national title and play for Nick Saban… i’ll take it! Highly unlikely that any team in the state of California will be competing for a national title now or anytime in the near future. The traditional power teams are just too strong and the money is too imposing.

The Oregon factor?

When you think of the University of Oregon, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Phil Knight? Nike? Those over the top uniforms?  Well if you are thinking all of the above, you are correct. You can also add that the Ducks are now the number 1 team in college football and are making some serious noise their first year in the Big Ten.

The Oregon factor is another topic of conversation when it comes to recruits leaving California and heading to Eugene. The NIL money, or in Oregon’s case the Phil Knight money, has lured many great athletes from the Golden State. Combined with winning and Dan Lanning the Ducks are a force to be reckoned with for years to come. The football facilities are incredible and the appeal of the many, many uniform designs remain extremely enticing to these incoming players.

Oregon might very well be crowned national champions by the end of the year. That remains to be seen.

California Teams Aren’t Getting Any Better

It’s unfathomable to think just a couple years ago that USC would take a massive step back. Currently sitting at 3-4, Lincoln Riley’s Trojans continue to spiral out of control. Not only USC, but UCLA is also feeling the heat of being new members of the Big Ten. Cal and Stanford have settled into the ACC but it has been a rocky road. Cal, after starting 3-0, has now lost four in a row. Those four games were losses by a total of nine points but there are no moral victories here.

For Cal it also doesn’t help that the four losses were all conference games. Stanford started off their conference slate with a stunning upset of an up and coming Syracuse team, but has come back down to earth since then. Needless to say, California teams playing in the P4 conferences have been less than impressive and it shows.

If these California high school recruits continue to pull away because of poor results on the field, this could set recruting back in California for years.

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