The USC Trojans lost a recruiting battle on Sunday. Four-star linebacker Christian Thatcher had narrowed down his list of finalists to four schools. One was USC. Another was Oklahoma. Another was Colorado with Deion Sanders watching intently as this decision was made. USC fans would have felt especially bad if Oklahoma or Coach Prime had swooped in and won this recruitment. Instead, the fourth school won. Utah and Kyle Whittingham prevailed, as Thatcher committed to the Utes.
This would have been a really good pickup for Matt Entz and USC. The Trojans are putting together a lot of official visit extravaganzas for their recruits, hoping that their new defensive coaching staff will make a difference. It didn’t happen this time, but the Trojans hope that if they can sell their new coaching staff and promote the value of NFL-level development and teaching — things they didn’t have under Alex Grinch and Donte Williams — they will be able to accumulate the level of defensive depth they need to be a serious national championship contender.
Looks like four-star LB Christian Thatcher has four hats on the table ahead of his commitment this evening at 5 p.m.
Oklahoma, Utah, Colorado and USC.
Kansas and Washington were in his top six that don't have a hat on the table
— Lars Hanson (@LarsHanson) June 16, 2024
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