USC, UCLA may cause recruiting map expansion

Southern California and UCLA’s pending moves to the Big Ten could give the league’s existing members the opportunity to expand their recruiting maps and pursue more West Coast prospects.

It will take some time for these moves to have that kind of impact.

“I think ultimately it’s probably going to be a little bit of a slow burn,” said Andy Frank, who oversees Penn State’s recruiting department as the Nittany Lions’ director of player personnel.

The numbers bear that out.

Twelve high school juniors or seniors from states with Pac-12 programs have verbally committed to play football at one of the Big Ten’s 14 current member schools. Only four made their decisions after the June 30 announcement that USC and UCLA would join the Big Ten in 2024.

Zack Marshall, a tight end from Carlsbad (California) High School, committed to Michigan in mid-August but said the news about USC and UCLA didn’t impact his decision.

“It wasn’t much of a consideration thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to come home and play once in a while,’” Marshall said. “The consideration was more, ‘Do I want to leave in the first place?’”

Other prospects from states with Pac-12 schools to commit to Big Ten programs since June 30 are Wisconsin quarterback recruit Cole LaCrue of Broomfield, Colorado; Michigan athlete Collins Acheampong of Rancho Santa Margarita (California) and Indiana-bound wide receiver Orlando Greenlow of Lawndale, California.

Big Ten schools generally have recruited other prospect-rich areas more than the West Coast. The list of high school juniors and seniors verbally committed to Big Ten programs includes 40 prospects from Florida but only four from California.