At the beginning of March, Lincoln Riley’s USC already got the hint of the recruiting wind hitting their way when 4-star cornerback Danny Lang was spotted sporting a Trojans hoodie. But Dan Lanning and Oregon still held out hope. But the answer finally came, disappointing the Ducks. 

On March 25, Lang announced he would be staying on the West Coast. The final race was between Riley and Lanning. But the four-star cornerback from Mater Dei kept the suspense high until the very last minute. According to the video doing the rounds on social media, Lang was spotted sitting with his family, with a table in front of him holding multiple caps. Calming all the buzz, he finally picked the USC cap. 

From the beginning, Lanning could feel the pressure since, being a California prospect, Riley and the Trojans recruited him hard. Oregon, fully aware that the Trojans might get the call, still rolled out the red carpet back in November last year. 

“Went great,” his father, Danny Lang Sr., said. “Very good. They made a good pitch at him.”

Lanning kept hoping since, amidst Lang’s top three suitors, Oregon, USC, and Ohio State, the Ducks were the only ones to punch the College Football Playoff tickets last season. But their fear came true as Riley’s USC got the chance to bring the coveted recruit home. 

Lang is rated as the No. 7 cornerback nationally and the No. 6 overall player in the state of California according to 247Sports’ rankings. Back in Mater Dei for the 2025-2026 season, he came up with 61 solo tackles and 73 total tackles, averaging 2.8 tackles per game. Other than the talents that Lang brings with him, he accelerated Riley’s Trojans’ recruiting rank to No. 6. With this, USC just leapfrogged their arch-rivals, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, right after Lang locked in his commitment. 

The cornerback now joins the elite army featuring a duo of four-star wide receivers, Quentin Hale and Eli Woodard; four-star cornerback Aaryn Washington, among others. But losing Lang is the second heartbreak that Oregon received from Riley’s squad this month. 

It might be a déjà vu moment for Oregon. On March 14, Riley succeeded in wooing the five-star athlete of the 2026 class, Honor Fa’alave-Johnson. The safety was a hot target for Lanning’s Ducks. This came as revenge after Riley lost the race to Oregon by missing out on the five-star safety Jett Washington back in December. 

Months later, Lang’s recruiting victory came at Lanning’s expense. Riley did not let the battle stay limited to the recruiting trail and took it to social media, sprinkling salt on Oregon’s wounds.

Lincoln Riley took a shot at Oregon with a viral ‘grass’ shot

Looks like USC knew that it would be the Trojans for Lang. They had a post ready for X. So right after the cornerback made his final pick, the USC Football X account dropped the video with a “✌️” emoji. 

In the video, a green patch of grass is seen, iconic of Oregon’s color, and someone painted it red with spray paint, symbolizing how USC removed any signs of Oregon from Lang’s commitment race. At the end of the video, the quote read, “Guess the grass wasn’t greener.”

That was the Trojans’ way of celebrating the success. However, the comment section showed how, in real life, Riley’s program still has a long way to go to catch up with the Ducks. 

“Imagine posting this because you landed a 4 star CB while you haven’t beat the “green” team in nearly 2000 days. Big time little bro behavior,” wrote an Oregon fan. 

Riley and the Trojans might be flexing their muscles on the 2027 recruiting trail, enjoying three ranks higher than the No.9 Oregon. But on the field, it’s been all Oregon. The Ducks have rattled off four straight wins over the Trojans since 2019, capped by a 42-27 takedown at Autzen not too long ago.

So, it’s cool to win on the trail, but the real flex is on game day. It’s now time for Lincoln Riley to end the drought against Oregon.