Recruits to visit campus
With signing day quickly approaching, football recruits will visit USC this weekend to meet with the Trojans’ coaches and staff and tour the football and campus facilities.
The Feb. 3 signing date is especially important for recruits who have not offered a commitment to any school and are visiting USC in the upcoming days.
Four-star recruit safety Demar Dorsey, who is nationally ranked among the top 15 at his position, will visit campus Friday. If he joins USC, Dorsey could be among the Trojan hopefuls looking to replace departing senior safety Taylor Mays.
The safety looked to be headed to Gainsville, Fla. to join the Florida Gators at the beginning of the recruiting season, but after he refused to cancel his trip to USC, his offer from the Gators was withdrawn.
Dietrich Riley, another four-star recruit at safety, will also be on campus this weekend. Riley was recruited by one of the newest Trojan coaches, Willie Mack Garza.
Joining Dorsey and Riley this weekend will be Eureka, Calif.-native fullback, and sometimes linebacker Soma Vainuku.
Vainuku had planned to visit Oregon State this weekend, but his interest in visiting the USC campus changed his plans.
“I’m down to two schools: ASU and USC,” Vainuku told ESPN. “This is honestly one of the toughest decisions I have ever made.”
Former USC offensive line coach Pat Ruel recruited the 251-pound Vainuku but Ruel was let go from the Trojan staff last week, so Vainuku’s recruitment remains up in the air.
Seeing how Anthony McCoy is at the Senior Bowl this week, the Trojans will be in the market for a new tight end this recruiting season, and four-star recruit tight end Christian Thomas is also among the visitors coming to campus this weekend.
Thomas was recruited by tight ends coach Brennan Carroll, former coach Pete Carroll’s son. Brennan Carroll was among those new coach Lane Kiffin retained after the coaching switch, a continuity that will likely help the Trojans in Thomas’ recruitment.
The second-ranked commit from the state of Maryland, four-star offensive tackle Arie Kouandjio, will also join the slew of recruits this weekend as the Trojans look to replace a large contingent of departing seniors from the offensive line.
Kiffin reportedly visited Kouandijo in Maryland on Tuesday, although the 325-pound lineman has made no school a favorite in his recruiting.
Offensive lineman Chaz Green will also make his official visit this weekend.
The Trojans will also welcome other recruits who have verbally committed to other schools in one final attempt to convince them to join the Trojans.
Five-star recruit athlete Latwan Anderson, four-star cornerback Nickell Robey and three-star linebacker Jordan Zumwalt will all be on campus before they make their final decisions Wednesday.
Wow, whoever wrote this is clueless.. He’s using internet message boards as his source..
Asher,
So are you saying that Vainuku has canceled his trip to Oregon State because he likes the new coaching staff and is now excited about joining USC or he canceled the Oregon State trip because Ruel was not effective in recruiting him (terrible recruiter from day one) and now that we have good recruiters recruiting Vainuku he wants to be part of the team? I think what you are trying to say is Ruel has been an ineffective recruiter (never enjoyed recruiting) and the new staff has picked it up considerably since Ruel’s departure. It just sounded confusing to me.
Fight On!
Quote: “Vainuku had planned to visit Oregon State this weekend, but his interest in visiting the USC campus changed his plans. “I’m down to two schools: ASU and USC,” Vainuku told ESPN. “This is honestly one of the toughest decisions I have ever made.” Former USC offensive line coach Pat Ruel recruited the 251-pound Vainuku but Ruel was let go from the Trojan staff last week.”