Prized lineman recruit decommits from USC

Arik Armstead, USC’s top recruit for its 2012 football recruiting class and brother of current USC senior defensive end Armond Armstead, has rescinded his verbal commitment to USC, according to a Scout.com report.

The Elk Grove, Calif., native and Pleasant Grove High School star is Scout’s top overall recruit for the class of 2012 listed as an offensive tackle. Rivals.com — another leading scouting website — listed the younger Armstead as the 26th overall recruit as a defensive end — reportedly his prefered position.

“It’s a big factor, wherever I go, that I want to play defense,” Armstead told Scout analyst Brandon Huffman. “So schools recruiting me for offense, they can do that, but they’ll be hard to consider.”

Armond Armstead did not receive medical clearance from USC’s medical staff after being hospitalized for an undisclosed condition in March and will not play this season, which factored into Arik Armstead’s decision to decommit.

“I’ve been disappointed with the way some of the things have been handled with the school and my family over the last six months,” the younger Armstead told Huffman.

Huffman reports Armstead will visit Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., this weekend, where the Fighting Irish are set to host USC.

According to Huffman’s report, other teams interested in Armstead include Michigan, California and Alabama.