From Ryan Kartje: When Pete Carroll was at the height of his powers at USC, the legendary coach made it a point to own the California recruiting scene. In turning the Trojans into perennial title contenders, Carroll set out to “put a fence” around the Southland, to keep all of its top prospects at home, in cardinal and gold.
It turned out to be a winning strategy. But recruiting the best players in your own backyard, as Carroll saw it, wasn’t really rocket science.
“It seemed like common sense,” Carroll told The Times in 2006, after the Trojans had signed back-to-back recruiting classes ranked No. 1 overall.
Yet since Carroll’s exit, his successors at USC haven’t made it look so simple. Any semblance of USC’s local supremacy under Carroll was ceded completely over the past decade as other college football powers, such as Ohio State or Oregon, planted their own flags on the Trojans’ home turf. The problem only festered further under Lincoln Riley, as the coach initially cast a wider net nationally, aiming for top prospects in states like Texas and Florida while local stars signed and shined elsewhere.
Riley waited until his fourth season to return to the strategy that worked so well for Carroll.
And it took less than one year after that for USC to return to the top of the recruiting world.
The coronation became official Wednesday, as USC inked the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation on early signing day, marking the first time in almost two decades that the Trojans stood atop the recruiting throne of college football.
From Ben Bolch: UCLA appeared on the verge of a late recruiting victory Tuesday when David Schwerzel, a high school defensive lineman from Seattle, tweeted that he was “1000% committed” to becoming a Bruin, including a picture of himself in a blue and gold uniform.
By midday Wednesday, Schwerzel sent out another tweet, saying he remained undecided “due to unforeseen circumstances.” He ended up signing with Washington by day’s end.
Regardless of whether the reversal was attributable to miscommunication with coaches or a change of heart, it illustrated the volatility of the early signing period in even the best of times.
And these clearly weren’t the best of times for the Bruins.
Having done its best to salvage a rapidly dwindling recruiting class after the September dismissal of coach DeShaun Foster, UCLA suffered several more defections Wednesday from prospects who had been previously committed to becoming Bruins.
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: This past postseason, Miguel Rojas announced that 2026 would be the last year of his MLB career.
On Wednesday, he and the Dodgers ensured he would go out in Los Angeles.
Barely a month removed from Rojas’ heroics in this year’s World Series, he and the Dodgers agreed to a one-year, $5.5-million contract for next season, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: If there was such a thing as a must win in early December, this might have been it for UCLA.
The Bruins had fallen out of the national rankings and had no quality wins to their name after nearly a month of lifeless basketball.
They found a pulse Wednesday night thanks to a 2-3 zone and an incredibly hot stretch from Tyler Bilodeau in his return from a knee injury.
Bilodeau scored 16 straight points for UCLA early in the second half while also fighting his way through cramps that required frequent trips to the bench and the massaging of his lower legs with a device.
There was also the reemergence of Donovan Dent and a long-range heater from Skyy Clark, all combining to help the Bruins snare an 82-80 victory over Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena in their Big Ten opener.
CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: Chris Paul was released by the Clippers overnight after extended conflict with the team, a league source not authorized to discuss the issue publicly told The Times.
Paul called out fellow Clippers players, coaches and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank during his current stint with the team, a league source told The Times. The person added that Paul apologized, but “everyone was fed up.”
It is unlikely Paul will sign with another team, a league source told The Times, because of his powerful voice in the locker room, which can be difficult for teams to deal with, and his age.
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James Harden had 27 points and nine assists, and the Clippers ended a five-game losing streak with a 115-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night in their first game after deciding to move on without Chris Paul.
Kawhi Leonard had 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Ivica Zubac contributed 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Clippers, who won for just the sixth time this season.
LAKERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: At about the one-quarter mark of their season, the Lakers sit second in the Western Conference with a 15-5 record. The 61-win pace would be the team’s best year since 2008-09, but the Lakers aren’t satisfied yet.
“There’s a lot of slices of pizza left in the box that we can still get after,” coach JJ Redick said.
Here are four takeaways from the first 20 games of the season as the Lakers begin a three-game trip Thursday in Toronto:
DUCKS
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1945 — “Mr. Inside” Doc Blanchard of Army becomes the first junior to win the Heisman Trophy. Blanchard also becomes the only athlete to win both the Heisman and Sullivan Award.
1951 — Princeton triple-threat tailback Richard Kazmaier wins the Heisman Trophy. Kazmaier led the nation in total offense and the Tigers to an undefeated season.
1956 — Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung edges Tennessee’s Johnny Majors to win the Heisman Trophy.
1961 — Floyd Patterson defends his world heavyweight title by knocking out Tom McNeeley in the fourth round in Toronto.
1961 — Syracuse running back Ernie Davis becomes the first Black man to be taken No. 1 in the NFL draft after being selected by the Washington Redskins.
1977 — Tony Dorsett becomes the third rookie to rush for more than 200 yards in a game with 206 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
1982 — Georgia’s Herschel Walker wins the Heisman Trophy. The junior running back beats out Stanford quarterback John Elway and Southern Methodist running back Eric Dickerson.
1988 — Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders wins the Heisman Trophy then proves he’s worthy of the award with spectacular performance in a 45-42 win over Texas Tech in Tokyo. Sanders rushes 44 times for 332 yards and four touchdowns, setting the NCAA single-season rushing record with 2,628 yards in 11 games.
2004 — Louisville becomes the first football team in NCAA history to score at least 55 points in five straight games, beating Tulane 55-7.
2005 — Croatia wins its first Davis Cup title when Mario Ancic beats Michal Mertinak of Slovakia 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-4 in the decisive fifth match.
2009 — The New Jersey Nets win for the first time this season, ending the worst start in NBA history at 18 losses by beating the Charlotte Bobcats 97-91.
2010 — Cam Newton passes for a career-best 335 yards and four touchdowns, and runs for a couple of TDs to lead No. 2 Auburn past 18th-ranked South Carolina 56-17 for the Southeastern Conference title.
2013 — The NFL fines Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin $100,000 for interfering with a play against the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving. In the third quarter of the Ravens’ 22-20 win, Jacoby Jones swerves to avoid colliding with Tomlin and is tackled after a 73-yard return that might have gone for a touchdown if not for the obstruction.
2016 — Tom Brady becomes the NFL’s career leader in victories by a quarterback, earning his 201st by throwing for 269 yards and a touchdown to lead New England.
2016 — Detroit becomes the first team in 60 Saints home games to stop Drew Brees from throwing a touchdown pass, as the Lions pull away from New Orleans, 28-13. It’s also the Lions’ first victory in a road game following Thanksgiving since 1974, snapping a streak of 22 losses in such games.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.