Matt Leinart reacts to USC's No. 1 recruiting class after Mark Bowman commitment: 'That's what I'm talking about'

USC has the top recruiting class for 2026 at the moment, according to On3’s 2026 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. That has Matt Leinart excited about the future of the Trojans.

The legendary college football quarterback took to X to share some pride in his alma mater. With 27 total commits, including one five-star and 16 four-stars, USC has a recruiting score of 94.026. That’s something to celebrate.

“[USC Football] #1 recruiting class for 2026 and starting to own So Cal,” Leinart posted on X, as many of Lincoln Riley‘s top recruits are from California. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

With players like the freshly-committed tight end Mark Bowman, cornerback Elbert Hill and offensive lineman Keenyi Pepe coming to town, it’s easy to see why Leinart is enthusiastic. 2024 left a bit to be desired for USC, but their future prospects seem bright, as they rebuild the program under Riley’s direction.

USC’s 2025 class was solid, and good enough for No. 15 in On3’s rankings, but a jump of 14 spots could make a major difference for the Trojans. LSU, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia round out the top five for 2026 at the moment. Still, they don’t come close to USC’s whopping 27 commitments.

“It can never come together soon enough,” Riley said, reflecting on where USC stands at the moment, via On3’s Pete Nakos. “I know our expectations as a staff and at this place are as high as they get. You’re just trying to push things along as much as possible. At that point, I was confident and excited about some of the changes that we had made and some of the progress that we had made. They’re still going to continually be decisions that we have to make, moves that we have to make to continue to elevate this program. 

“Every step right now feels good. You feel the progress within the walls right now, the ability to be able to go out. The progress has put us back in a position where we feel like we can have an opportunity to bring in the very best into our program, whether it’s staff members, whether it’s recruits. You go into this recruiting cycle, and you feel like you got a shot to go add the very best people in the business, the people that are going to help propel USC forward.”

Matt Leinart is happy, and so are USC fans around the nation. We’ll see if it translates to sustained success on the field, but the Trojans seem primed to make some noise.