2023 3-star athlete Johnny Thompson Jr. decommits from USC

Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian athlete Johnny Thompson Jr. has decommitted USC, announcing the news on social media Thursday.

“First and foremost I want to thank Director of Football Relations Armond Hawkins and Coach Donte Williams for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to continue my athletic and academic career at such a prestigious school such as USC. I want to thank the Trojan Family for treating me as one of them and keeping me close. Last by not least, I want to thank the Trojan staff and interns for their endless hospitality and making the Coliseum feel like home. Without further ado, I will be decommitting from the University of Southern California,” Thompson said on Twitter.

Respect my Decision!@GregBiggins @adamgorney @OaksChrstnLions @CoachC_C @BrandonHuffman @RWrightRivals pic.twitter.com/oVkNGc8knw

— Johnny Thompson Jr. (@johnnythompsonj) January 28, 2022

He originally committed to the Trojans on his birthday in October.

Thompson is the No. 502 overall player in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

“Johnny Thompson is a two-way athlete at Oaks Christian, playing running back and corner,” On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power said. “As a running back, he’s quicker than fast and is at his best when operating as an all-purpose back who is able to present a receiving threat out of the backfield. He looks to hurdle defenders at a high rate and has leapt over several mid-way through his junior season. Thompson is a smooth mover at corner and has shown some physicality as a cover down defender. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him project as a nickel on that side of the ball.”

He has an On3 NIL Valuation of $6,000. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

The Trojans now have three commits in the 2023 recruiting class. All three players are ranked in the top 40 of the On3 Consensus. Los Alamitos (Calif.) Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Malachi Nelson leads the class along with Las Vegas Bishop Gorman five-star wide receiver Zachariah Branch and Los Alamitos (Calif.) four-star wide receiver Makai Lemon.