4-star EDGE Hayden Lowe commits to USC

Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian four-star EDGE Hayden Lowe has committed to USC, he tells On3’s Steve Wiltfong.

Lowe visited the Trojans the weekend of June 7-9 and has now locked in his pledge with Lincoln Riley and Co.

He chose USC over offers from Texas, Miami, Oregon, UCLA, Georgia, Notre Dame and and more than 30 other programs. He took official visits with the Hurricanes, Ducks, and Bulldogs in May, and still had a visit scheduled with the Longhorns.

Lowe has been a longtime target of the Trojans, but said he has seen a change in his recruitment since their new defensive staff took over.

“There’s a lot better culture from the team and from new staff they brought in,” he told WeAreSC.com. “They also brought a lot of new players. I know Anthony Lucas has been out there getting after it. And the defense had something like four interceptions in the Spring Game So they were all getting after it.

… But the energy and the culture has definitely skyrocketed since last few times I’d been there.”

He’s also developed key relationships with defensive line coach Eric Henderson, defensive ends coach Shaun Nua and head coach Lincoln Riley. The addition of Henderson from the Los Angeles Rams also helped put the Trojans over the top.

“Coach Henny’s definitely one of the top developers in college football, I would say,” Lowe said.

The 6-foot-3, 227-pounder is the No. 214 overall prospect in the 2025 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also ranks as the nation’s No. 24 EDGE and the No. 19 recruit in California.