Several former USC football players are set to add a few zeroes to their bank accounts Saturday when they are selected in the annual NFL Draft.
But the USC football program will also be cashing in on the departure of the gridiron stars.
Although their departures will leave holes that the coaching staff will have to fill, USC's NFL draftees will spend their time in the limelight over the weekend, reinforcing one of the Trojans' strongest recruiting tools.
Even the most academically minded recruits aspire to one day play in the NFL.
And while there are many other factors that weigh into a player's decision on where to attend school, it's safe to say there's a cyclical relationship between USC's influx of prep stars and exodus of future NFL players.
It's this individual drive for success that has kept programs such as Miami and Florida State afloat despite multiple subpar seasons. Each school developed reputations over the last 15 years for being professional football factories, which kept their recruiting classes on top.
Lately, USC has become the "it" school for sending its players on the fast track to the top of the draft.
Under USC coach Pete Carroll, USC has produced 32 draft picks in six years, including seven first-round selections. The Trojans could add anywhere between 10 and 12 more players to that total this year, challenging the record for most picks from one school set by USC in 2006 with 11.
It's that constant stream of success that led the NFL network to name USC its top "football factory" in a recent segment about the NFL Draft.
And USC has had no trouble parlaying its success with players in the NFL into bringing more talented players every year.
The recruiting pitch made by USC coaches is pretty simple: "See all those players holding up jerseys before they sign multimillion dollar contracts? We got them there and we could get you there."
It's been a rhetoric that has left recruits hard-pressed to say "no."
Over the last four years, the Trojans have signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation three times. The class of 2007, following on the heels of USC's highly-touted 2006 draft class, was rated as one of the most talented classes in recent history.
Part of this pitch has been making sure recruits understand USC's history of developing players into NFL stars. While players can't be expected to reminisce about the days of Sam Cunningham and Lynn Swann, distinctions such as wearing No. 55 like Willie McGinest and Junior Seau has proven to be a useful recruiting tool, like when it was used to bring Keith Rivers to USC.
With Rivers' departure and status as a possible first-round draft pick, the number only gains more allure for future recruits.
But few players are simply content to follow in others' footsteps. Any pitch telling a player that they are going to be the next Sedrick Ellis or Fred Davis is only useful insofar that it allows the recruit to create his own identity.
While each recruit might want to blaze his own trail, USC coaches can safely say they can get each one to that same destination.
- To comment on this article, visit www.dailytrojan.com or e-mail Mike at middlehu@usc.edu.
