Duce Robinson, nation’s top-ranked tight end, chooses USC over Georgia

#USC isn’t ready to beat Kirby Smart on the field, but Lincoln Riley just beat #UGA in a major recruiting battle. That will play.

The USC fan base remembers what it was like when Josh Conerly, an elite offensive lineman, was about to announce his decision a year ago in the spring of 2022. Conerly ambushed USC in early April with his choice to go to Oregon and Dan Lanning. One year later, USC fans hoped there would be no ambush, no last-minute plot twist, in the recruitment of top tight end Duce Robinson.

They got their wish.

There was no 11th-hour reversal or change of heart. This time, Lincoln Riley got his man, securing a commitment from Robinson, the elite, field-stretching tight end who could become an even better version of what Riley had at Oklahoma with Mark Andrews. Robinson, if he does play at USC, could be for the Trojans what Kyle Pitts was to Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators in the 2020 season.

Getting Robinson is sweet for USC, which elevated its national recruiting ranking in the process and gave Riley another amazing piece in an already-loaded offense. Yet, the actual recruiting victory means even more when one realizes that the Trojans and Riley beat out Kirby Smart and Georgia for this top prospect. It’s exactly the kind of national win which elevates the profile of the program and makes USC a destination school, one year before its move to the Big Ten, where the Trojans will need to continue to win recruiting battles in the Midwest and in various Big Ten markets such as the DMV (D.C.-Baltimore-Northern Virginia) and New Jersey (Rutgers).

We’ll have much more on this story at Trojans Wire. Watch this space, and also follow our friends Tim Prangley and Rick Anaya for their USC show at The Voice of College Football. “Trojan Conquest Live” airs on YouTube every Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. Tim and Rick will have plenty on Duce Robinson this coming Sunday.

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