Tag: Ja’Kobi Lane

Receiver Ja’Kobi Lane earned high marks in USC spring football camp

Ja’Kobi Lane earned rave reviews at USC spring football camp.

The USC football program has concluded its spring practices. Players will try to stay in shape and study behind the scenes before August preseason camp opens, leading into the big season opener versus LSU on Labor Day weekend in Las Vegas. Of all the Trojans who participated in spring practices, receiver Ja’Kobi Lane stood out in the eyes of many teammates and coaches. USC linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, who is likely to be a starter on the Trojans’ defense in 2024, identified Lane as the “MVP” of spring camp.

Lane’s emergence is critical for a number of obvious reasons. One is that Miller Moss needs all the help he can get this season. He’s not a Caleb Williams superman-style quarterback who can make all sorts of improvisational plays. Moss needs to make plays from structure, with his teammates getting open for him.

Another central reason Lane needs to become a factor for USC in 2024 is that in 2023, receivers Dorian Singer and Mario Williams did not perform that well. The Trojans need four receivers to play well on a consistent basis. Last year, only two — Brenden Rice and Tahj Washington — became particularly reliable weekly targets. If Lane steps up and joins Makai Lemon, Zachariah Branch, Kyle Ford, and hybrid tight end-receiver Duce Robinson as consistent producers, Moss should have a big year, and USC will be in position to thrive.

A third reason Ja’Kobi Lane needs to be elite for USC: LSU, the Week 1 opponent, had a Swiss cheese secondary last year. USC has to exploit the LSU secondary. Lane could be a central vehicle for achieving that goal.

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USC football receiver Ja’Kobi Lane delivers a jawdropping vertical leap, showing what he can do

Ja’Kobi Lane might be a better, more imposing athlete than we all realized (and we knew he had big-time talent).

The USC football wide receiver room was excellent in 2022 thanks to Jordan Addison. It regressed in 2023 with Dorian Singer and Mario Williams failing to produce at an elite level. It is poised for a bounce-back season in 2024 with Ja’Kobi Lane being part of the group.

Lane reportedly completed a 48-inch vertical jump in recent USC football workouts. Lane told this to 247Sports USC beat writer Chris Trevino. If we accept the 48-inch mark as fact, that would blow away any other vertical jump number from the 2024 NFL scouting combine held three weeks ago in Indianapolis.

USC might have a freak athlete on its hands.

Ja’Kobi Lane, in addition to having serious hops, showed great talent and acumen as a pass catcher in the Holiday Bowl win for the Trojans against Louisville. Lane formed a strong connection with quarterback Miller Moss, who — let’s remember — worked with the “twos” in the wide receiver room for a good portion of last season while Caleb Williams worked with the “ones” who didn’t perform as well as expected. Lane’s natural talent is evident, but his rapport with Miller Moss might be the secret ingredient which enables the 2024 Trojan passing game to really shine.

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Ja’Kobi Lane emerges as a big-time 2024 receiver and weapon for USC

USC has a Lane to success in 2024.

Did you have your bingo cards ready on Wednesday night? Were you prepared for all the big performances from Trojans who did not make an impact during the regular season?

The USC Trojans made noise with a 42-28 victory in the Holiday Bowl against Louisville at Petco Park. It was a surprising all-around effort by USC despite the big names not playing.

Miller Moss dazzled with six touchdowns, and some freshman wide receivers made noise, including Ja’Kobi Lane.

Lane had three catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns despite having just four catches all season long. Lane made some huge plays and found chemistry with Miller Moss in what could be a sign of things to come for the Trojans in 2024.

There is a lot to love from Lane, and here are some of the top plays and reactions from his performance:

Will USC keep Ja’Kobi Lane, or will he leave for another Pac-12 school?

There is a distinct possibility that Kenny Dillingham could flip Ja’Kobi Lane and bring him to Arizona State. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Ja’Kobi Lane is a four-star wide receiver recruit hailing from Red Mountain Mesa High School in Arizona. He holds 17 offers. Some of the schools which offered him: the Oregon Ducks, Auburn Tigers, Utah Utes, Colorado Buffaloes, Texas A&M Aggies, Arizona State, Texas, and USC.

The 6-foot-4, 180-pound senior is the top-ranked wide receiver in the state of Arizona’s 2023 recruiting class, according to 247Sports’ latest rankings. The four-star-rated recruit committed to play at USC in August.

Ja’kobi Lane recorded 56 catches for 748 yards and nine scores in the 2022 season.

Keep in mind that Lane is the only USC commit in the 2023 class who has yet to sign his National Letter of Intent.

If Lane joins, it would be an even more impressive USC WR class that includes Zachariah Branch and Makai Lemon, who are two of the top five ranked receivers in the country for the 2023 class.

Look for Oregon and Arizona State to be a factor if he decides to not attend USC.

My prediction is Lane will flip to Arizona State and stay home, but for now it’s USC for Lane until further notice.

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4-star Oregon WR target Ja’Kobi Lane announces commitment

The Ducks were originally an overwhelming favorite to land 4-star WR Ja’Kobi Lane. He announced his commitment decision on Friday.

In a bit of a shocking development, 4-star WR Ja’Kobi Lane announced on Friday that he would be committing to the USC Trojans, choosing to go to Los Angeles rather than coming up to Eugene and joining the Oregon Ducks, which was said to be his “dream school.”

After earning a scholarship offer from Oregon earlier this summer, Lane quickly picked up Crystal Ball predictions from 247Sports to choose the Ducks. Instead, he bucked that trend by going to USC with Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams, and 2023 5-star QB Malachi Nelson.

In Eugene, Lane would have joined 5-star QB Dante Moore and 5-star WR Jurrion Dickey.

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Ja’Kobi Lane’s Recruiting Profile

Ducks become overwhelming favorites to land blue-chip WR out of Arizona

After a standout performance at Oregon’s Saturday Night Live, the Ducks offered 4-star WR Ja’Kobi Lane. Now they’re the heavy favorites for his commitment.

It didn’t take long for the Oregon Ducks to become the front runners in the recruitment for 4-star wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane. After the blue-chip prospect showed out and had a great performance at Oregon’s Saturday Night Live camp, the Ducks extended an offer.

From there, the Crystal Ball predictions started flooding in.

According to a total of 6 predictions, all logged within the past 24 hours, Oregon is an overwhelming favorite to land Lane, who is rated by 247Sports as the No. 49 WR and No. 371 overall player in the 2023 class.

Lane has a close relationship with Ducks freshman WR Kyler Kasper, who traveled with him to Eugene this weekend ahead of his first season with the Ducks. There is no telling when Lane might make his commitment, but Duck fans should feel confident about him choosing to come to Eugene.

Crystal Ball Prediction

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Ja’Kobi Lane’s Recruiting Profile