Ten years after USC came to Arizona and signed the two best prospects in the state, the Trojans have done it again. During the last week, North Canyon OT Austin Jackson and Mountain Pointe DB Isaiah Pola-Mao announced they'd be joining a stacked 2017 USC recruiting class. They both had the same final schools, including Arizona State and Washington, but ultimately decided to head to L.A. Pola-Mao explained his decision extensively in the commitment article he authored for ArizonaVarsity.com, while Austin Jackson talked about his decision on Signing Day.

"The connections there are great, and the recruiting class they're bringing in is incredible," said Jackson. "My father lives in Los Angeles, and my grandfather and some of my uncles played at USC as well, so I get to be part of a great legacy."

The word 'legacy' goes a long way as far as explaining USC's appeal. If both Jackson and Pola-Mao hadn't had familial connections, there still would have been the program's storied past, its conference champions and bowl wins, as well as its long history of producing NFL talent.

Last year, USC found a way to nail down the commitment of Brophy DE Connor Murphy, who was being recruited heavily by Michigan, Oregon and Arizona State. Murphy, who is very close with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, turned down the man who coached his brother Trent at Stanford in order to head west, and explained his decision to Jared Cohen of Sports360AZ, “USC is obviously good at football but the degree from USC is huge for me. The alumni support will set me up for my future.”

USC is a private institution, and the tuition alone just jumped to over $50,000 a year. While a bachelor's degree is ultimately what you make of it, connections from alumni and boosters can help set a player up for life beyond football. At Austin Jackson's announcement, there was a program supporter I spoke with who drove out just to watch the ceremony. When he found out Jackson's academic interest was law, he began listing off connections he had to lawyers and law offices affiliated with Southern Cal.

While the football program itself struggled to persevere under Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian under the weight of sanctions imposed at the end of the Pete Carroll era, Clay Helton seems to have provided the Trojans with some stability, and his staff is a force to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail. The Trojans managed to secure the #12 and #6 recruiting classes over the last two seasons.

Prior to 2016, the Trojans actually had a long dry spell in Arizona. They failed to make Christian's Kirk's top 3 in 2015, they struck out on four stars Mark Andrews, Qualen Cunningham, Casey Tucker and Tyler Whiley in 2014, as well as Chans Cox and Priest Willis the year before that. In 2012, none of the three players in Rivals top 107- Andrus Peat, Davonte Neal or DJ Foster, ended up with the Trojans. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 2011 to fins a non-Juco player that USC signed out of Arizona.

In 2011, Saguaro's Cyrus Hobbi chose USC over Arizona State and others, and was joined at USC by Chaparral longsnapper Peter McBride. That year, however, USC had pushed hard on several other prep and JuCo prospects to no avail. Lately, USC hasn't needed to search the JuCo ranks for help nearly as much as they once were.

The best run that USC has had in Arizona, perhaps equalled by what we've seen in the last two years, was landing the state's top prospect in 2009 in Devon Kennard, and the state's top two prospects in 2007 in Everson Griffen and Kristopher O'Dowd. Kennard starts at linebacker for the New York Giants, while Griffen has been to multiple Pro Bowls as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. O'Dowd spent parts of two season in NFL training camps.

So why, after a long dry spell, is there a sudden resurgence of USC's ability to recruit Arizona? After all, they nearly landed KJ Jarrell this year as well (Had they landed three of Arizona's top 5 prospects in 2017, they'd have stood alone in my recruiting Winners and Losers column). Austin Jackson told me that it might have something to do with the way Clay Helton's staff recruits, a sentiment that was echoed by Isaiah Pola-Mao's family after his announcement, "They were just so laid back with their approach because of the confidence they have in their school, and their conviction that I was the right fit."

It was that confidence that led Austin Jackson to join a recruiting class that includes two other Rivals250 offensive tackles, and Isaiah Pola-Mao to commit despite USC holding a commitment from Bubba Bolden, who plays a similar position and Rivals has ranked 38 spots ahead of him in the 2017 rankings.

It's the same confidence that seems to have put USC in a decent position should they offer Arizona's top-ranked 2018 prospect, WR Solomon Enis, who told me after Austin Jacksons announcement, that Jackson's commitment could have a big influence on him.

Will the Trojans dominate in the desert again in 2018? We'll have to wait and see.