Laziness, lack of success and other issues cause mass defections among highly rated recruits...
https://www.latimes.com/sports/usc/la-sp-usc-football-recruiting-20190201-story.html
Partial Thumbnail: SC's traditional arrogance, combined with lazy early recruit identification, leads to a scramble as the early signing period scoops up many of the kids they would have poached at the last minute in previous years. And lack of success opens the door for SEC teams.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/usc/la-sp-usc-football-recruiting-20190201-story.html
Partial Thumbnail: SC's traditional arrogance, combined with lazy early recruit identification, leads to a scramble as the early signing period scoops up many of the kids they would have poached at the last minute in previous years. And lack of success opens the door for SEC teams.