June was a rough month for USC football recruiting. The Trojans suffered several de-retirements that dragged down the rankings of their 2025 recruiting class. These de-retirements also reinforced the notion that USC is not yet back to being an elite heavyweight program. As we reflect on and process these recruiting setbacks, however, we should remember that top-tier recruits are not always successful. One prominent example at USC: Korey Foreman.
USC fans would like to forget him, but his story remains a cautionary tale:
At a media scrum after USC’s practice on Tuesday, Lincoln Riley said in response to a reporter’s question that USC is considering giving Korey Foreman a redshirt, a clear sign that no one should expect Foreman to be a significant contributor on defense at any point remaining in the 2023 season.
We didn’t spend much time talking about Foreman this offseason because we were skeptical of him and didn’t want to give anyone false hope. We needed to see real improvement before touting Foreman as a likely contributor to this defense. That instinct – skepticism of Foreman – proved to be correct.
We talked more about Foreman and the recruiting process in the opening segment of our recent show on The Voice of College Football:
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