Tag: USC recruiting

USC recruiting target transfers to IMG Academy

USC recruiting once again has its focus on a Florida prospect. The intent to score big in the Deep South remains intense.

USC football recruiting target and four-star defensive lineman Jake Kruel has transferred to national powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton (Fla.) from Bishop Moore High School in Orlando.

The 6-3, 225-pound edge rusher is in demand. Kruel had 76 tackles, 17 sacks, 34 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and two pass deflections as a sophomore for Bishop Moore.

Kreul has offers from Auburn, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, Miami, Clemson, USC, Oregon, Texas A&M and reigning national champion Michigan. The Sunshine State native has not yet taken a visit to USC, but he plans on making an unofficial visit sometime soon.

Kreul is ranked as the No. 7 edge rusher in the nation according to 247Sports.com and the No. 56 player in the country for the 2026 class.

Take a look at Kreul’s sophomore highlight tape on Hudl to see exactly why the USC Trojans’ target is such a hot commodity on the recruiting trail for the 2026 class.

IMG Academy travels to Corner Canyon (Utah) in its first matchup of the season.

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Can USC land former Georgia commit Christian Garrett?

A four-star defensive lineman just decommitted from Georgia. USC could pick him off, but it will be a battle.

Four-star defensive line recruit Christian Garrett has decommitted from the Georgia Bulldogs. Garrett had been committed to Georgia for just over two months. He originally committed to the Bulldogs on June 9.

Garrett was Georgia’s highest-ranked defensive line commitment, ranked as 138th player in the 2025 class for recruiting. Garrett also ranks as the No. 17 defensive lineman and No. 17 prospect in Georgia, per 247Sports.

The prospect from Prince Avenue Christian in Bogart, Ga., has already picked up a prediction from On3 Sports Recruiting Expert Steve Wiltfong to land with Georgia Tech in what would be a huge flip.

The 6-foot-4, 285-pound defensive line recruit would be one of Georgia Tech’s top commitments in recent memory. The Yellow Jackets are hot on the recruiting trail right now. Georgia Tech just landed a commitment from five-star Peach State offensive lineman Josh Petty and is now looking to solidify the other side of the trenches.

I would not count out USC, Clemson, Tennessee and Alabama for the four-star defensive lineman.

USC just lost two top defensive linemen, Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson, who are also from Georgia and are expected to land with the Bulldogs next season.

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Four-star offensive tackle Aaron Dunn selects Utah over USC

USC loses to Utah for a top-tier offensive lineman.

Spanish Fork (Utah) offensive tackle Aaron Dunn took to the 247Sports YouTube channel to announce his commitment on Thursday. He selected the Utah Utes over USC, BYU, and the Oregon Ducks.

The 6’7, 285-pound offensive tackle is a four-star recruit. Dunn is 247Sports’ No. 157 overall prospect, the No. 16 offensive tackle, and the No. 2 player in Utah for the 2025 class.

Dunn has tremendous size and length for the tackle position. He’s an impressive athlete, especially for his size, thanks to his background in basketball. He’s light on his feet and moves really well.

“Playing elite football in my backyard for a really established program is special for me,” Dunn told 247Sports. “Coach Jim Harding is a great developer of talent with a proven track record, and the offense is great for a player with my skill set. Coach Andy Ludwig talked me through the offense and I feel like I could be very successful in their system.”

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Four-star offensive tackle from Utah lists USC in top five

USC trails Utah in this recruitment. The announcement date is August 8.

Spanish Fork (Utah) offensive tackle Aaron Dunn is set to announce his commitment on Thursday, August 8, on the 247Sports YouTube channel. Dunn will decide from BYU, Oregon, UCLA, USC football, and the favorite in this recruitment, the Utah Utes.

The 6’7 285-pound offensive tackle is a four-star recruit. Dunn is 247Sports’ No. 157 overall prospect, No. 16 offensive tackle and the No. 2 player in Utah for the 2025 class.

“Tall, athletic offensive tackle prospect with elite height and a lean build that wears existing mass well,” wrote 247Sports national scouting analyst Gabe Brooks in Dunn’s scouting report. “Possesses ample bulking capacity as desired. “Narrower through the torso, but long-armed to allow for high pass-pro upside. Shows relatively good knee-bending ability and generally does not get caught off balance. Plays pretty flat-backed in pass protection.

“Also has valuable part-time D-line snaps and a strong athletic profile, including 17.2 ppg as a junior on the basketball court. Still developing leverage consistency and adding mass, but a good functional athlete in this tackle class with some elite traits in certain categories and a strong athletic foundation. Projects to high-major college competition with the potential to become a desired NFL Draft candidate.”

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USC football scouting report: new recruit Joshua Holland

A recruiting analyst offers an appraisal of what USC is getting in Joshua Holland.

USC football continues to make headlines in the 2026 recruiting class, landing a commitment from three-star Bellflower (Calif.) cornerback Joshua Holland.

This comes after four-star safety Dominick Kelly (Los Alamitos) flipped his commitment to Georgia.

Here’s a scouting report from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney:

“He’s a tall, rangy cornerback. He could play both ways, but he’ll probably play cornerback. He’s an athletic kid, probably needs to be a little bit more physical. He didn’t play as much of a major role last year just because they had Marcelles Williams and some other guys, but he’ll step into that role now this year. My sense was that he was really, really high on Oregon and Oklahoma, so this is a big win for them to keep a kid home and get into Bosco and keep that pipeline going.”

In addition to USC, Holland also had offers from Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Missouri, Michigan State, and others.

Rated the No. 24 corner in the nation and the No. 37 player in California, he’s a great pickup for a USC program that is improving its defense each and every moment with defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.

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Four-Star Pennsylvania product Matt Sieg offered by USC football

USC is in the market for a versatile multi-position player.

USC has offered Matt Sieg, a 6-foot, 170-pound four-star athlete from Fort Cherry High School in McDonald, Pennsylvania. Sieg is listed as an athlete but plays quarterback, running back and free safety at the prep level. It’s likely that Sieg will be recruited primarily as a safety in the 2026 class for the Trojans.

Sieg connected on 86 of 158 passes for 1,670 yards, three interceptions and 20 touchdowns last fall. He also led the Rangers in rushing with 9.4 yards per carry; he carried the ball 255 times for 2,389 yards and 39 touchdowns.

On defense he racked up 20 tackles (13 solo), a tackle for loss and three interceptions.

On his recruiting process Sieg said, “The recruiting process has been going well. I’m just trying to enjoy it while it lasts.”

Sieg also holds offers from Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Maryland, Nebraska, Missouri, Rutgers, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Penn State, Minnesota and Virgina Tech.

Check out Matt Sieg’s highlights here, as USC makes another attempt to bolster its 2026 class, which is beginning to take shape: Hudl

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USC lands commitment from local cornerback Joshua Holland II

USC retained a California player! More of this!

The media and Trojan fans have been clamouring for local talent at USC. Defensive backs coach Doug Belk has answered that request by signing his third cornerback from Southern California, Joshua Holland II. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound cornerback from local St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, is staying home.

Holland has over a dozen offers from teams in Power Four conferences, including Oregon, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Washington, Ole Miss, Missouri and Michigan State.

He is ranked as a four-star athlete in the ON3 Industry Ranking rating, which is a composite score of the major recruiting services.

Holland has elite size at the corner position and he’s still likely growing. He’s a rangy athlete with superior ball skills who closes passing windows quickly. Playing for St. John Bosco in the Trinity league will allow him to hone his skills against the best in practice (Daniel Odom and Madden Williams) and in league play (Chris Henry Jr., Trent Mosley, Marcus Harris, Kaden Dickson-Wyatt, and Phillip Bell).

Holland becomes the fifth member of USC’s Class of 2026, joining linebacker Xavier Griffin, cornerback Brandon Lockhart, wide receiver Ja’Myron Baker, and athlete Madden Riordan.

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2025 defensive lineman Elijah Griffin cuts recruiting list to three, includes USC

USC is strongly in play for a top Georgia recruit.

Elijah Griffin is a product of Savannah Day Christian High School in Savannah, Ga. He is one of the top players in the country. He has cut his recruiting list down to Miami, USC and Georgia. Back in March he announced he had cut his list down to 12, but now that list has been cut to just three schools after weighing his options this summer.

After initially considering a December commitment announcement, Griffin told On3, “Still not 100 percent… Thinking about an October commitment.”

Griffin is the fifth-ranked prospect, the top defensive lineman and the best player in Georgia in the 2025 class per the On3 Industry Rankings. The 247Sports Composite Rankings list Griffin fourth overall, and top DL and player in Georgia in the 2025 class.

As a junior, Griffin registered 97 tackles, 17.5 sacks and an interception. In his three year career Griffin has racked up nearly 250 tackles and 35 sacks.

All three 247Sports crystal balls that were logged this winter project Griffin to commit to Georgia. The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine projects Georgia with a 95.2 percent chance for a Griffin commitment. Miami and USC are given less than a one percent chance for a Griffin commitment in the On3 RPM.

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USC football scoring huge commitment will raise the inevitable conversation

Will USC be able to retain big recruits? Everyone is asking that question.

The USC Trojans won a mammoth recruitment in the state of Georgia, gaining the commitment of 2026 five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin. USC has endured some difficult moments with Georgia-based prospects in 2024, losing Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson three months after they had initially committed to USC. Georgia fans and other college football fans reacted to USC’s loss of the two players with a “bless your heart” attitude, as though it was inevitable that USC was never going to hold onto those recruitments. Whether that really was inevitable or not, it remains that the saga reinforced a simple point about modern recruiting: Commitments don’t mean a whole lot. They don’t mean much until the recruit signs on the dotted line and ends his set of visits to other schools. The reality of seeing a recruit visit other schools despite being “committed” to one school was and is a direct contradiction. If a recruit really and truly was committed to a school, he wouldn’t feel the need to visit any other school. USC football has had to learn that lesson the hard way, and it sets the stage for what’s next with Xavier Griffin.

Being a 2026 prospect, Griffin has a lot of time in which he can change his commitment. Everyone will be watching this story, and a lot of people will be reasonably skeptical about USC’s ability to retain Griffin. All of this reflects reality at a program whose team lost five games last year. If USC had gone 11-1 or 10-2 last year, it’s highly unlikely any of this would be happening. The key takeaway: USC needs to be good on the field this fall. That will be the best way to retain recruits.

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USC lands 2026 five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin

USC needed this.

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.

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