Tag: USC recruiting

USC continues its recruiting success at Mater Dei with commitment from CJ Williams

C.J. Williams committed to USC, giving the Trojans another 2020 Mater Dei recruit. Could a pipeline be forming under Lincoln Riley?

USC’s proximity to Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) provides a natural recruiting advantage for the Trojans to cherrypick from the No. 1 school in the nation, but players haven’t exactly been funneling into the program. No Monarch committed in 2017, 2019 or 2020; the closest was wide receiver Bru McCoy transferring from Texas before the start of his freshman year.

However, over the last two years, there has been a major boost. With four-star wide receiver C.J. Williams’ becoming the fifth Mater Dei player in the last two years to commit tot he Trojans, it looks as though some sort of pipeline is finally appearing under head coach Lincoln Riley.

Williams announced his decision at the All-American Bowl. The 6-foot-2, 193-pound receiver is rated the No. 76 player overall and No. 11 wide receiver in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

He broke out as a sophomore at Mater Dei and continued his strong play over the next two seasons, finishing his senior year with 830 yards and 12 touchdowns on 51 receptions. He was a leader for the Monarchs, who won the National Championship.

Williams is the third top-100 player from Mater Dei alone to commit to USC in this cycle.

Five-star running back Raleek Brown, ranked No. 33 in the country, followed Riley to USC after initially committing to Oklahoma. Five-star cornerback Domani Jackson, the No. 7 player in the country, decommitted from USC but then recommitted after Riley moved to the west coast.

Those are three of the four best Mater Dei players in the 2022 class. The other, linebacker David Bailey, committed to Stanford.

Last year, the Trojans picked up two of the top three Mater Dei recruits, securing four-star linebacker Raesjon Davis and four-star wide receiver Kyron Ware-Hudson.

That makes back-to-back years in which USC has found recruiting success at a school that has won or shared National Championship honors in four of the last five years. It’s too early to proclaim that a pipeline has formed — after all, the Trojans picked up three Monarchs in 2018, only to go barren in the next two years — but there could be something brewing in southern California.

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With Lincoln Riley at the helm, star CB Domani Jackson re-commits to USC

With Lincoln Riley as head coach, USC signed Domani Jackson, one of the top players in the class of 2022.

In late November, after visiting Alabama, five-star cornerback Domani Jackson decommitted from USC. The Trojans didn’t have a coach, and Jackson saw an opening to reconsider whether he wanted to join the legacy of the Crimson Tide, commit to a Michigan program that he had previously called his “dream school,” or return to USC.

Oh how the times have changed.

With Lincoln Riley in tow, Jackson signed with the Trojans on Friday. The Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) star tweeted a photo with graphics of himself overlooking the Coliseum. In one of the graphics, Jackson is holding the 2016 Jim Thorpe trophy that former USC star Adoree’ Jackson won.

USC tweeted a video welcoming the star to the school.

Jackson is ranked as the No. 3 player (tied) in the class of 2022 in the USA TODAY High School Sports Recruiting Rankings. He emerged as a star at Mater Dei as a sophomore, looking like one of the better cornerbacks in the nation regardless of class, but his high school season was ended prematurely due to a knee injury.

He’ll be back, just as he returned to USC after initially decommitting. Jackson is staying home.

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5-star WR Kevin Coleman: USC back in top-5 after promotion of Donte Williams

5-star WR Kevin Coleman scored touchdowns on two punt returns and then explained why Donte Williams’ promotion to USC interim HC makes him higher on the Trojans.

Even with the upheaval in the USC football program following the firing of head coach Clay Helton, there is at least one recruit who is more interested in the program than he was before.

Five-star wide receiver Kevin Coleman announced on Sept. 16 that USC will be his final official visit. He plans to take the trip on Nov. 20.

His relationship with new interim head coach Donte Williams gave him the push to put the Trojans back into consideration.

“As soon as he got the head coaching job, it was a no-brainer,” Coleman said to WeAreSC.com’s Scott Schrader. “I had to put them back in the top-5.”

Williams has been recruiting Coleman since the receiver was a freshman and the coach was part of the Oregon staff. Coleman said that Williams got him an offer at Oregon and got him an offer at USC on Williams’ first day on the Trojans’ staff.

“He always looked out for me, so I had to pay him back,” Coleman said.

He did this interview with Schrader following a game in which he showed an example of why he is the No. 22 player in the 247Sports composite.

On Friday, the senior returned two punts for touchdowns to lead St. Mary’s (Saint Louis, Mo.) to a 54-12 victory.

The first touchdown was a 47-yard return in the second quarter and the second was a 50-yard return in the third quarter, according to STL Today.

“The first one, I had to hit (the hole). It was all or nothing. I had to believe in myself,” Coleman said to STL Today after the game. “My teammates gave me great blocks, so I had to do them a favor and score.”

In February, Coleman said his top eight schools were Alabama, Arizona State, Florida State, Georgia, Oregon, Texas, Penn State and USC. Saying that he added USC “back” into the mix would imply that he has since trimmed the list.

247Sports reports that Coleman is warm on Alabama, Arizona State, Florida State, Oregon, Texas and USC.

USC recruiting: Trojans offer 2022 safety Trejon Williams

The USC Trojans are turning their attention to the class of 2022, making an offer to safety Trejon Williams from Portland, Oregon.

USC Trojans coach Clay Helton and his staff not only secured one of the best recruiting classes in recent memory in 2021, they are looking to build an even stronger class in 2022.

They seem to be off to a rousing start after making an offer to five-star safety Trejon Williams from Jefferson High School in Portland.

Williams is currently the eighth ranked safety and 123rd overall ranked player in his class, according to 247Sports, and has drawn comparisons to NFL safety Keanu Neal for his athleticism and surefire tackling ability.

USC already landed a pair of strong defensive backs in the class of 2021, Xamarion Gordon and Prophet Brown, and adding Williams into the mix would make them one of the more feared defenses in the PAC-12.

Plus, snagging a player like Williams from right under the nose of the Oregon Ducks would be a huge win for Helton and his staff, and would help shore up a secondary that is losing a lot of talent in the next few years to graduation and/or the NFL draft.

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USC recruiting: Trojans may lose QB Jake Garcia to Miami

USC Trojans quarterback commit Jake Garcia may be considering a switch to the University of Miami, according to some analysts.

When the USC Trojans landed a commitment from 2021 quarterback Jake Garcia, he immediately became the highest-rated recruit in a class that has continually been ranked among the top-10 in the country by various media outlets.

Now, however, some are beginning to question whether that commitment will hold, which would be a pretty big damper on coach Clay Helton’s recruiting prowess in this cycle.

The Miami Hurricanes have continued to make a strong push to add Garcia, and one recruit analyst has changed his prediction from USC to Miami – likely a product of Garcia’s decision to transfer to his fourth different high school, this one located in Valdosta, Georgia.

The move away form California and over to Georgia, coupled with the cancellation of the PAC-12 season and the commitment of another top quarterback in 2021, Miller Moss, has people understandably spooked that Garcia will decide to head elsewhere to continue his football career.

Time will tell, but USC is set at quarterback with Kedon Slovis for at least two more years, and Moss is expected to be an instant contributor if given the chance, so while Garcia would provide excellent competition at that spot, it’s a loss they could live without, if needed.

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2 of USC’s top recruits hint at playing together on social media

Korey Foreman (2021) and Domani Jackson (2022) apparently want to play together in college, which makes USC an even stronger contender.

The USC Trojans already have one of the best recruiting classes in the country set to join them in 2021, but the coup de gras of the class is no doubt defensive end Korey Foreman, a five-star who decommitted from Clemson and is currently the No. 1 ranked recruit in the class according to 247Sports.

Foreman is apparently planning to be joined by 2022 five-star cornerback Domani Jackson, as the pair are making plans to play together over social media. Unfortunately, the initial discussion centered around joining the Clemson Tigers, not the USC Trojans.

The talk about Clemson is a bit worrisome, no doubt, but if these two really do want to play together it seems most likely to happen in southern California, with USC leading the crystal ball projections for both Foreman and Jackson at this point.

Foreman has USC among his top-seven schools, a list that includes LSU, Alabama, Oregon, Clemson, Georgia and Howard. Jackson’s list is down to 10, with USC getting joined by Oklahoma, Michigan, Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Georgia, Arizona State and Texas.

Obviously Clemson is a potential factor here, and it seems logical that LSU and Georgia are in the mix as well if the pair decide to stay together, but all signs still point to USC – which would be a huge, huge boost to this defense over the next half-decade or so.

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USC RB commit Brandon Campbell to sit out senior season

Incoming Trojans running back Brandon Campbell has elected to sit out his high school senior season in Texas, and will enroll early at USC.

While the state of Texas does not seem too concerned about the potential health ramifications of having a high school football season this fall, that does not mean some of the players aren’t concerned.

Count incoming USC running back Brandon Campbell among those concerned, enough so that he told Rivals.com he intends to sit out his final high school football season before enrolling at USC.

This decision was one of the toughest decisions for me because obviously, the competitor in me wants to go out there and be with the guys on Friday nights. Also, along with this being my last high school season, I definitely want to try and attempt to make one more state championship run. It hurts a lot knowing I will not have that chance anymore, but I am more excited knowing in a couple months I will be a collegiate student-athlete like I’ve always dreamed of so I’m very optimistic about my future and blessed knowing this isn’t the end for me. At the end of the day, people may see this as being selfish on my part but everyone will still have something to say no matter what my decision is … you have to do what’s best for you and your family at the end of the day and that’s what was the biggest thing for me was.

Campbell chose USC over Alabama, LSU and Florida back in March, and now the eighth best running back in his class will be all set to join the Trojans early next year – potentially getting a chance to at least practice and simulate what a game week would look like if the PAC-12 adopts a spring schedule.

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USC recruiting: 4-star power forward Ben Gregg sets commitment date

The USC Trojans are one of 17 schools still on 2021 power forward Ben Gregg’s list, as he is set to commit on September 9.

The USC basketball program is still actively recruiting high-level players to join the program in future years, despite massive uncertainty about how, and when, the 2020-2021 season will commence.

Their latest target is four-star power forward Ben Gregg from Clackamas, Oregon. Gregg is a top-60 prospect in the country, and he announced on Twitter Thursday afternoon that he intends to commit on September 9 – his mom’s birthday.

Despite a relatively soon commitment date, Gregg still has a huge list of schools he plans to choose from.

The Trojans are joined by a laundry list of west coast schools, including Arizona, Oregon, Cal, Oregon State, Colorado, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, Portland and Utah.

As if that wasn’t enough, Gregg also included Louisville, Virginia, Indiana, Princeton, Virginia Tech, and Texas, good for 17 total schools still on his list.

Gregg initially picked up an offer from USC back in March, after he was named Oregon’s Gatorade Player of the Year. He averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.9 steals in the 2019-20 season with Clackamas, helping land him at No. 59 overall on 247Sports’ composite rankings for the class of 2021.

USC will have plenty of tough competition for the star forward’s services, even if he chooses to stay on the west coast, but the team’s recent success of landing and developing big men, namely Onyeka Okongwu and Evan Mobley, could help persuade him to hop down to Southern California.

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Fall football cancellation could cause recruiting challenges for USC

Coach Clay Helton and the USC Trojans will have to hope the cancellation of the season does not hurt their 2021 recruiting class.

USC coach Clay Helton and his staff have worked tirelessly to build a 2021 recruiting class that is ranked No. 8 in the country, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.

Considering that USC only had one top-300 recruit in the class of 2020, the 2021 class is vitally important for this program’s continued success.

However – the cancellation of the 2020 season is not going to do this team any favors on the recruiting trail, and could in fact convince some of the incoming 2021 recruits to look elsewhere – potentially damaging this team’s long-term future.

Helton’s job security has been an oft-discussed topic in recent years, and a successful 2020 season would have helped alleviate some of those concerns – which likely would have made incoming recruits feel far more comfortable.

No high school kid wants to go to a school where the entire coaching staff could be replaced any minute, and without a 2020 season it’s entirely possible some incoming recruits will feel compelled to decommit and look elsewhere if they are worried about Helton’s future.

Elsewhere, on the defensive side of the ball, 2020 was a great opportunity for new defensive coordinator Todd Orlando to show off his new scheme, which may help incoming defensive players feel more comfortable with their decision.

That’s not to say recruits are guaranteed to decommit without a season in place, but it does toss a lot more uncertainty into the air – and a top-10 recruiting class in 2021 is vital for this program’s success and the job security of Helton and his staff.

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Football and basketball recruit Michael Trigg names USC in top-3

Michael Trigg named USC, LSU and South Carolina as the three finalists for his services on the gridiron and the hardwood in 2021.

Four-star tight end and three-star shooting guard Michael Trigg from Carrollwood (FL.) has named USC among his top-3 schools, alongside LSU and the other USC, South Carolina.

Trigg intends to play both football and basketball at the next level, and is being recruited as a two-sport athlete at all three of his final schools.

It was first reported back in June that Trigg was being offered a chance to be a two-sport athlete at USC, and it appears that helped land them among the top-3.

Trigg would provide much-needed depth to the Trojans tight end group, which already lost Jack Yary, a 2020 recruit who recently decommitted and instead joined the University of Washington.

Trigg is the No. 5 ranked tight end in the class of 2021, and No. 152 overall according to 247Sports, who classified him as “more of a big receiver” than an actual tight end.

Less is known about Trigg’s potential impact on the hardwood, although the Trojans have lost a ton of guard play in the last year or so, and could easily use more depth at the very least.

Replacing USC’s last two-sport athlete, Drake London, will be no easy feat, but if Trigg decides to join the Trojans he will most likely be a fan favorite in short order.

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