USC Trojans Recruiting to Compete in College Football Playoff with 2021 Class
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
There is a longing in Los Angeles, one set up by a century of excellence, that college football fans in the area are ready to achieve again… playing for a national championship. The Trojans house 11 claimed national championships that range from 1928 to 2004, but have found it difficult to even keep a consistent hold on the Pac-12 South in recent years. In five seasons, head coach Clay Helton has been apart of three, one was interim status in 2015 followed by 2017 and 2020 South titles. During the 2017 season USC won their first conference championship since 2008. The missing piece has been recruiting the right players for their schemes and keeping the top local talent home.
Helton and Co. are building the recruiting wall in So Cal with momentum that can go beyond the Pac-12 Championship Game.
On paper, the 5-7 and 8-5 seasons produced in 2018 and 2019 should not have happened. The Trojans’ 2018 class was ranked fourth in the nation with four five-star players and 13 four-star talents. The reality, two of those five-stars are now gone; Palaie Gaoteote IV is in the transfer portal and quarterback JT Daniels is now slinging the pigskin for Georgia.
The 2019 recruiting class produced a fallout between Helton and the fanbase. Knowing USC can recruit at an elite level, the Trojans’ class fell to No. 20 with no five-stars, seven four-stars, and 16 three-star players. But within that class was a group of Los Angeles and Orange County area kids that believed in the future. Centennial four-star defensive end Drake Jackson was the difference maker with corner Max Williams, tight end Jude Wolfe, and receiver Kyle Ford helping rallying the troops. Tucked within the class was the 26th ranked pro-style quarterback in the nation out of Arizona, one who now looks like a Top 5 prospect, from Desert Mountain High School in Kedon Slovis… the reason JT Daniels transferred after his injury.
There are no two ways around the 2020 class other than to call it light. USC signed 12 in total, just two four-stars; receiver Gary Bryant Jr. and Moorpark offensive guard Jonah Monheim. And then USC went 5-1 in a truncated 2020 season reaching the Pac-12 Championship Game.
The 2021 recruiting class promises to fill gaps in the roster while bringing even more athleticism and talent to the squad. Ranked eighth nationally, the Trojans have one five-star, 13 four-stars, and seven three-star players headed to campus. Might one reach back to the 2019 class to thank Drake Jackson for five-star end teammate at Centennial Korey Foreman signing with USC?
When Slovis’ eligibility is gone, or when he’s ready for the NFL, four-stars Miller Moss and Jaxson Dart are ready for the challenge. The class has two standout receivers in Mater Dei (CA) target Kyron Ware-Hudson and Desert Pines’ (NV) Michael Jackson.
The class is deep in the secondary where four-star athlete Anthony Beavers Jr., four-star Calen Bullock, four-star Xamarion Gordon, four-star Ceyair Wright, and four-star Jaylin Smith will help take on Pac-12 passing attacks. A player to watch in the box is Julien Simon, a four-star outside backer from Lincoln High School in Tacoma.
If this class is light on anything, it would be depth on the offensive and defensive line. Three linemen on offense have signed and three on defense, two defensive ends.
To help fill some talent voids, USC has been busy in the transfer portal adding four former four-star players; running back Keaontay Ingram and safety Xavion Alford from Texas, defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher from Alabama, and receiver K.D. Nixon from Colorado (immediately eligible).
National Signing Day concludes on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
Update: The Trojans added another dynamic piece to their recruiting class on NSD signing four-star Mater Dei outside linebacker Raesjon Davis. Davis is listed as the 48th best player in the 2021 class, third-best in California, and fourth-best at his position nationally. Landing Davis was not only big because they flipped him as a longtime LSU commit, but it also helps the Trojans further open up recruiting channels in Southern California that have been inconsistent in recent years.
The Trojans 2021 class currently ranks No. 8 nationally, second-best in the Pac-12 behind No. 6 Oregon, with one five-star, 14 four-stars, and seven three-star talents.
Photo credit: Moss family; Miller Moss at USC