LOS ANGELES — Tommy Maher, easily, could have landed comfortably in the FCS. The offers awaited this past recruiting cycle, even in the absence of an FBS scholarship, for a 5-foot-8 receiver who had authored a quietly standout season at national power St. John Bosco.
And yet somehow, without anything more to offer other than a walk-on spot, Chad Savage convinced Maher to come to Colorado State. The messaging was simple, as St. John Bosco head coach Jason Negro recalled: come in here, you’ll have a shot.
A year later, freshman Maher caught a 53-yard touchdown in Colorado State’s victory over Wyoming, and Savage’s guy was rewarded with a full-ride scholarship by the end of the season.
“I’ll tell you what, he’s got a pretty good foundation,” Negro said of Savage. “Coaches like him. And I think what we respect most about him, is the amount of homework that he does.”
For years at Colorado State, Savage’s “follow-through” as a recruiter, as former Warren High coach Kevin Pearson put it, has endeared him to coaches across Southern California. He had gone toe-to-toe with blue-blood programs for under-the-radar three-star recruits across the Southern California landscape, and he often won. And USC is now targeting Savage for a staff role coaching tight ends and inside receivers, multiple sources confirmed to the Southern California News Group on Tuesday night, a development that set the Southern California high school landscape abuzz.
“It’s a huge pickup for USC,” said Pearson, whose one-time Warren receiver Jordan Ross committed to Colorado State and Savage over a heap of Power Five offers. “It’s like – he’s one of those game-changer guys.”
“I think it’s a home-run hire for USC,” said Inglewood High coach Mil’Von James, who has sent four players to Colorado State in the last three years.
The news was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Savage’s deal with USC is still being finalized, a source said.
He would slide into the tight ends coaching role left vacant by Zach Hanson, who shifted to USC’s offensive line coach after Josh Henson departed for Purdue, and would assume a dormant inside receivers mantle once occupied by now-QBs coach Luke Huard. Savage, too, operated as Colorado State’s recruiting coordinator in addition to coaching CSU’s receivers, developing a strong foothold across Southern California high school campuses.
Despite off-and-on relationships with local high school powers during his tenure, and just five in-state commits in the program’s 2025 class, USC head coach Lincoln Riley emphasized in October that recruiting California is the Trojans’ “priority number one.” Between nabbing Corona Centennial quarterback Husan Longstreet late in the 2025 cycle, visiting new Mater Dei head coach Raul Lara in November and targeting a slew of local 2026 recruits, Riley has shown a clear commitment to that pledge – and now would add another feather in his cap with Savage.
“The work that he does with the coaches, and the relationships that he has built with the coaches here in Southern California,” Negro said of Savage, “is pretty impressive.”
Since Savage took over as Colorado State’s recruiting coordinator in 2022, across four subsequent recruiting classes, CSU received more than a third of its commitments solely from Southern California-area recruits, according to data from 247Sports compiled by the Southern California News Group. Negro praised Savage as “never intimidated” in competing with blue-bloods for Bosco’s recruits, and Savage has won more than a few battles with Power Five schools in recent years. Multiple local coaches noted Savage’s work ethic and ability to relate with recruits, as a younger staffer, as pluses in his recruiting approach.
When asked if Savage’s hire could help foster more traction between St. John Bosco and USC, Negro, who has been outspoken about USC’s distance in recruiting his program, Negro said “I think so.”
“Because, Chad Savage is going to know the value of which – Bosco student-athletes could have on the USC program,” Negro continued.
At USC, he would be tested in going after larger fish in a massive pond, never having landed a four-star recruit at Colorado State. But news the Trojans were closing in on a hire, ultimately, made a big initial splash Tuesday night.
“Now, just, it’s a bigger name he can recruit from,” James said.