A weekend of promise for the Trojan faithful
Trojans fans had a lot to be excited about Saturday.
The USC women’s basketball team pulled off its fourth straight comeback win, defeating Washington State 61-51 on the road. The victory gave the Women of Troy their best start in Pac-10 play (6-1) since the 2004-05 season. 
Also, the No. 1 USC men’s tennis team opened its 2010 dual-match season with a pair of impressive wins against Loyola Marymount University and UC Santa Barbara at Marks Stadium.
And to top off the victorious day in USC sports, the men’s basketball team beat Washington 87-61 at the Galen Center, a night after blowing a 15-point second-half lead to Washington State. The team, projected to finish ninth in the Pac-10 this season, moved into a five-way tie for second place in the conference.
While the win was impressive, there was something stirring off the court that should have excited fans as well.
Amid the 6,000 fans in attendance sat new football coach Lane Kiffin and recruiting guru Ed Orgeron. Now, that might not seem very newsworthy, but joining them in the action were Kyle Prater and Markeith Ambles — two significant names in the USC football world leading up to next Wednesday’s National Signing Day.
Prater, the No. 3 overall prospect according to Rivals.com, represents a talented but small 2010 recruiting class for the USC football program. He’s rated the No. 1 wide receiver in the country and committed to the Trojans before Pete Carroll left for the NFL.
His significance lies in the fact that he decided to stay with USC when Kiffin took the helm.
In fact, he leads a group of 14 recruits who have not let Carroll’s decision to leave affect their choice to play for the Trojans. And as I’m writing this column, not one Carroll recruit has left because of the coach’s flight for the pros.
So despite all the turmoil and worry about Carroll departing during such a crucial time in recruitment, it appears that fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Although the class is only 14 strong, it is just that — strong.
Joining Prater are two other five-star recruits, running back Dillon Baxter and wide receiver Robert Woods.
The rest of the crop is filled with talented four-star recruits, such as No. 1 tight end Xavier Grimble, No. 3 running back D.J. Morgan, No. 3 defensive tackle George Uko and No. 5 quarterback Jesse Scroggins, just to name a few.
Although Carroll was a great attraction for many players coming to USC, these commitments show that recruitment didn’t begin and end with the former coach. Kiffin and his sidekick seem to be picking up where Carroll left off.
And they might have the ability to make the 2010 class even better in the following week.
There was another very important recruit in the crowd during Saturday’s contest at the Galen Center.
Ambles, a five-star rated wide receiver from Georgia who has yet to commit to a college program, had narrowed his choices down to LSU, North Carolina, Tennessee and USC, heading into his visit to Southern California.
After his recruiting trip this past weekend, all signs are pointing toward the receiver committing to join Kiffin’s squad very soon.
If it does indeed happen, Ambles’ commitment to USC would be extremely significant for the program.
He would symbolize a sense of hope that the Kiffin-Orgeron duo can convince other big-time, uncommitted recruits to choose USC’s program by Feb. 3.
The clock is ticking, but there is still time to turn this crop into a top-10 class.
That’s why Kiffin has packed his final recruiting week with visits that potentially could make his first class at USC stronger, bigger and more reputable.
Kiffin’s busy week begins with the coach making a trip to visit No. 1 offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson in Minnesota. USC was reportedly Henderson’s first choice before Carroll left, but the question remains whether Kiffin can convince the five-star lineman that USC is still the right place for him.
Also on Kiffin’s list is No. 2 linebacker Christian Jones, a five-star recruit out of Florida, who many assumed would commit to Florida State and follow in the footsteps of his family. Jones is scheduled to take an official visit to USC this weekend and will make his decision shortly thereafter.
Reportedly joining Jones on his visit to USC is No. 13 defensive back Demar Dorsey, a Florida commit, No. 9 defensive back Nickell Robey, a Georgia commit, No. 15 defensive tackle Michael Thornton and No. 6 offensive lineman Chaz Green.
Now getting all of these players to commit to USC is highly improbable, but the point is that the opportunities to make this class better are clearly out there, and Kiffin is on a one-week mission to improve his team as much as he can.
Whether Kiffin can make it happen is still unknown.
But one thing is certain.
As exciting as Saturday was for Trojans’ fans, everything leading up to next Wednesday might be just as exhilarating.
“Soft Hands” runs on Tuesdays. To comment on this article, visit dailytrojan.com or e-mail Jon at [email protected].