4-star safety Hylton Stubbs commits to USC Trojans

Jacksonville Mandarin four-star safety Hylton Stubbs has committed to USC, he told On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Sunday.

He chose the Trojans over Florida, Florida State and Miami. He is the fourth prospect to pledge to Lincoln Riley and Co. this weekend.

Stubbs is the No. 67 overall prospect and No. 6 safety in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 8 player in Florida.

Stubbs made his second trip of the year to Los Angeles earlier this week. After chopping it up with Riley and former Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams, he’s the latest blue-chipper to pull the trigger on pledging to the Big Ten program.

“Coach (Lincoln) Riley is a key reason for my interest in USC,” Stubbs told On3 last month. “I recently talked to coach Riley on the phone a couple days ago. Then, coach (Doug) Belk came to the school and I was talking to him a lot too. They’re showing a lot of interest in me. They love my film, they love how I play and they say they really like me.” 

“My time at USC was pretty awesome,” Stubbs told WeAreSC this week. “The campus had a great vibe and everyone was really welcoming. The football program was even better than I imagined, especially after chatting with Coach Riley. He had some impressive strategies for the team.”

Trojans add fourth top-100 prospect to 2025 class

Early Sunday morning, news broke that five-star Georgia defensive line commit Justus Terry had flipped his pledge from the Bulldogs to the Trojans. And just a few hours later, elite four-star EDGE Isaiah Gibson has announced his commitment to Lincoln Riley and Co. Now, Stubbs has joined the fold.

Combined with quarterback Julian Lewis, the trio gives USC the No. 3 class in the updated On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

“The opportunities that USC has on and off the field were big, for sure,” Gibson told On3. “It was my first time in California, and I like that they have my major [business real estate]. I feel like I could thrive inside and outside of football, and it was just the right decision.”

He chose the Trojans over the likes of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Clemson, Oregon and more than 20 other programs. Riley and Co. also flipped Georgia five-star defensive line commit Justus Terry, who was on the visit as well. And the two actually committed back-to-back in Riley’s office.