The hype surrounding incoming USC linebacker Tackett Curtis is considerable. This is no ordinary football player. This is not just another recruit.
Fans and coaches get excited about players all the time, but with USC so desperately in need of equation-changing players who can transform a bad defense into a credible one, the belief that Tackett will become a special college linebacker is impossible to ignore.
This could be wishful thinking. Maybe Curtis will be the latest in a very long line of overhyped recruits. However, given how many mediocre defensive players (or worse) played for USC the past several seasons, it’s easy to notice when a player clearly exists several levels higher than everyone else.
Curtis offers every impression that he will be that kind of player for USC.
It will be fascinating to see if he can be a Day 1 starter in late August against San Jose State. That’s the big drama of the offseason relative to his playing status. It seems a lot more certain that even if he isn’t starting on opening day, he will be starting by the end of the 2023 season.
We talked about him with Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football:
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