The USC football program needed some good news. It received some on Saturday evening, as the Trojans gained the commitment of 2026 five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin. You will note that Griffin is from the state of Georgia, the same state where the Trojans picked up two commitments earlier this season, Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson, only to lose them three months later. This is a 2026 recruit, so there will be a lot of talk about whether USC can retain the commitment and turn it into a signing. Nevertheless, USC has obviously made a positive impression on Griffin, and it’s a step forward for this coaching staff’s recruiting efforts.
USC continues to go into Georgia and other states in the Deep South to search for elite talent. The Trojans aren’t retaining as many players in the state of California as they should, or as they need to, so in order to compensate for that, USC needs to score recruiting wins elsewhere in the country, particularly in talent-rich areas. Matt Entz has a great new linebacker to coach in the future, and USC is beginning to shed the narrative that it doesn’t take defense seriously. That might be the real — and immediate — value of this commitment from Griffin. It might show other prospects that USC is no longer the program of Alex Grinch. Things are different now. Defensive coaches are good and know what they are doing.
KABOOOOOM! #USC lands a commitment from 5-star 2026 Ga. LB Xavier Griffin (@zay_social).
He is the No. 1 rated linebacker in the class, boosting #USC to the No. 1 class in 2026.
STORY: https://t.co/bG2rA3ROzs
— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) July 27, 2024
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