Flawless Signing Day for USC Intensifies Offseason Hype

A brutal September led to a sensational turnaround for USC in 2016, and freshman quarterback Sam Darnold's sterling performance in the Rose Bowl sparked a certainty for 2017: There would be hype. Lots of it.

As if the season-ending nine-game winning streak wasn't enough fuel for the praise and lofty projections, though, the Trojans executed national signing day better than any other program.

Keyed by a trio of 5-star commitments, USC soared seven spots in Scout's team rankings from 12th to fifth on NSD alone.

Player	Position	Star Rating	Overall Rank	Postion Rank
Joseph Lewis	WR	5	24	2
Austin Jackson	OT	5	30	5
Jay Tufele	DT	5	36	3
Greg Johnson	ATH	4	97	6
Levi Jones	OLB	4	179	11
Josh Falo	TE	4	232	7

A successful signing day doesn't require flashy new commitments, but that's the easiest way to gain national publicity. While Oklahoma and Texas A&M each finished with top-10 classes, the absence of a big name pushed those schools out of the spotlight.

Instead, USC jumped them in the rankings and absorbed the attention.

The latter will be a regular occurrence during the 2017 offseason, which already includes many favorable predictions for the Trojans. They're a popular top choice in way-too-early Top 25 rankings, appearing at No. 2 in polls released by Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated and Sporting News, as well as No. 3 at SB Nation and ESPN.

Once predictions for conference championships and the College Football Playoff start to roll out, it's a safe bet USC will be featured. Speaking of betting, the Trojans are currently tied with Oklahoma and Michigan for the fourth-best chance to win the 2017 season's national title, per OddsShark.

No matter your preferred method, it likes USC.

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

From this point forward, the rationale for those projections will likely include a reference to the Trojans' highly rated recruiting class.

What stood out the most about signing day was how USC secured signatures from each of its top six remaining targets. Yes, Aubrey Solomon had the Trojans as a finalist, but the defensive tackle's recruitment was basically down to Michigan and Alabama.

Levi Jones gave Clay Helton and Co. their first commitment of the day. About three hours later, mere minutes separated the announcements from Austin Jackson and Jay Tufele. Josh Falo provided the most memorable pledge with a Haka dance:

Joseph Lewis and Greg Johnson, a pair of local prospects who were teammates at Augustus Hawkins High School, decided to stick together at the next level, too.

Those six joined a class that already included 5-star running back Stephen Carr and 4-stars in safety Bubba Bolden, defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu and safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, among others. Just as importantly, USC didn't lose a key prospect to a signing-day flip, either, as Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee alluded to:

When the excitement of signing day settles, the question will swiftly turn to which true freshmen can contribute this year. That topic is almost always oversold in the offseason, but it will provide yet another significant jolt to the hype train.

Perhaps several of the new Trojans will wind up making an immediate impact. The unknown is what makes college football so exciting, after all.

Fans and media alike will spend the next six-plus months analyzing the most intriguing teams for that reason. Thanks to their torrid finish in 2016 and impeccable results on national signing day, the Trojans will be a featured member of that group.

Get used to the USC hype, because it's here to stay.

All recruiting information via Scout. Stats from cfbstats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.