The UCLA Bruins have had a recruiting revolution this offseason under first-year head coach Bob Chesney. As of Sunday morning, the Bruins 2027 recruiting class ranks No. 4 in the country but they’re not the only West Coast team enjoying success on the recruiting trail.
The USC Trojans is doing even better than the Bruins, with 247 Sports ranking the Trojans class as the No. 3 class. Lincoln Riley has consistently landed good recruiting classes for USC, having gotten nine four-star recruits so far for 2027.
While the strong classes are nothing new for the Trojans, it could lead to some exciting UCLA-USC meetings over the next couple of years. UCLA is currently riding a two-game losing streak against the Trojans, not scoring more than 13 points in either of the losses.
It’s not just the Big Ten teams that are landing recruits. Oregon is at No. 8, Washington is No. 11, Cal is at No. 21 and even Sacramento State is at No. 57. The rise of the NIL era has given student-athletes dollar incentives, rather than flocking to the SEC and a select group of other elite programs that we’ve seen for much of the 21st century.
Stanford has the No. 58 class, Fresno State is at No. 63 and San Diego State is tied with Washing State for the No. 66 class. The 2027 class could lead a college football resurgence on the West Coast. The College Football Playoffs began in 2014 and we still haven’t seen a California school reach the postseason tournament. Oregon and Washington both have CFP appearances but other than that, it’s been quiet out west come playoff time.
These class rankings are destined to change by the time the 2027 season rolls around but this year’s recruiting could be a sign that the landscape of the sport could be changing, with more elite players choosing to head west.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: The West Coast has had a strong showing with 2027 football recruits
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
