BREAKING: Marcelles Williams Commits to USC

The list of prospects who could’ve been the next USC commit was actually quite long. There were 13 official visitors at USC this weekend (June 16-18). Several of them were expected to commit to the Trojans at some point, but elite 4-Star St. John Bosco CB Marcelles Williams was the first to pull the trigger on Father’s Day Sunday.

Happy Father’s Day Pops! @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/Y6sf33bskK

— Marcelles Williams (@cellesthegreat1) June 18, 2023

Williams has taken more than 25 school visits since January 1. The primary purpose of the visits was to determine which schools he’d ultimately take official visits to. Lincoln Riley, Donte Williams, Annie Hanson and the entire staff left no doubt USC was the spot for Williams.

Williams has now taken official visits to UCLA (May 5), Oklahoma (June 9) and USC is this weekend. Last week he hinted at having plans to announce his school choice.

USC’s Spring surge

A lot of USC fans probably thought Marcelles was a lock for the Trojans because his oldest brother Max Williams is a fifth-year senior at USC, but that wasn’t the case. His interest didn’t start soaring until Mekhi Blackmon was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Coach Donte Williams and USC have left zero doubt about how big a priority Williams is for the Trojans. There were many reasons for Williams to with USC, but there are also some fair questions about the USC defense. 

WeAreSC asked Williams what his confidence level was in USC being able to provide what’s necessary to reach his goal of becoming an NFL football player?

“I feel like at the end of the day, Donte (Williams) is gonna make me a better player,” Williams said. “And I believe the the defense is only going to get better. I feel like it’s just growing and growing. Last year they were missing a lot of pieces that made ’em look unsuccessful. But this year, I’m pretty sure they filled those pieces.”

BIG-10 move

Seven days ago we had a conversation with Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa about the recently released USC schedules for 2024 & 2025. This move was an extremely hot topic a year ago, but the buzz died down long ago…..until last week. Once everyone began looking at USC’s list of opponents the next two years couldn’t help but dream a bit. It’s almost like there will be three Rose Bowl games in Los Angeles each year.

Viliamu-Asa said the impact of actually seeing the opponents was big for him. “It makes the move to the BIG-10 that much more real,” he said. 

The impact was similar for Williams.

“It does hit harder now that you see the schedule,” said Williams. “You’d never think SC would be playing Michigan in the Coliseum, or SC going to Penn St. or Oho State, that’s just stuff you don’t see. Those big games on those big stages is something I’d love to be a part of.”

USC starts of the 2024 season in Las Vegas (NV) against LSU. The Trojans also face Notre Dame at the Coliseum for another out-of-conference game.

“And you still have Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin and other big games,” Williams added.

USC ain’t done yet

WeAreSC actually expects more than seven of the official visitors on campus this weekend, to ultimately sign with the Trojans. The number could end up bigger, but seven is actually realistic. We’ll break down where things stand these visitors in a separate article.

More on the current class for USC

To date, the nine other commitments in the 2024 class are Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra four-star cornerback Dakoda Fields, Hiram (Ga.) tight end Walter Matthews, four-star Chesire Academy (Conn.) OLB Elijah Newby, , Los Angeles (Cal.) Sierra Canyon four-star Xavier Jordan, Atlanta (Ga.) Washington four-star EDGE Kameryn Fountain, Lake Oswego (Ore.) Lakeridge four-star tight end Joey Olsen, Clearwater (Fla.) four-star safety Jarvis Boatwright Jr., Modesto (Calif.) Central Catholic four-star offensive tackle Manasse Itete, McKinney (Tex.) three-star running back Bryan Jackson, four-star Hiram (Ga.) Tand Englewood (CO) Cherry Creek three-star offensive lineman Hayden Treter.

Also, as of right now, there are more than 20 prospects in the class of 2024 who are currently favored in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine to land with USC. A good portion of them visited USC this spring and/or are planning official visits in the summer. 

The Trojans are currently set to host 35 official visitors in the month of June, primarily scheduled for two major visit weekends. The staff will hope for similar success as last cycle when they landed more than 10 of their June official visitors. 

USC finished the 2023 class ranked inside the top-10 and Lincoln Riley and staff have started off on the right foot with an opportunity to repeat that feat in the 2024 class.