USC in Final Seven for Four-star Edge Hunter Clegg
Four-star edge defender Hunter Clegg released the list of his final seven schools this week and USC landed in the group.
Auburn, Baylor, BYU, LSU, Stanford, USC and Utah are the final seven for the 6-foot-4, 235-pound athlete from American Fork (Utah) High School. He’s the nation’s No. 220 overall prospect and a top-30 edge defender nationally.
Clegg took an unofficial visit to USC back in early March and spoke highly of the experience.
“Obviously it was an awesome visit,” Clegg told WeAreSC’s Scott Schrader. “It’s a beautiful place and the people there are really cool.”
Clegg is coming off early April visits to Baylor and LSU. Stanford is very much in play for Clegg, who has said he will definitely take an official visit to see the Cardinal. BYU and Utah are the in-state schools and will be seen as top options.
Clegg is listed as an edge defender and could play rush end or defensive line for the Trojans. His recruiting contact has been Shaun Nua, which means the Trojans likely see him bulking up a bit and slotting in as a defensive end. It’ll be interesting to see how much USC pushes for Clegg, as the Trojans are chasing some big-time edge prospects in five-star Nyckoles Harbor and four-stars Jayden Wayne and Malik Bryant, among others.
Clegg plans to take his official visits this summer and could wind up making a commitment in the next few months. Though he’s not announced any clear timeline for those trips or a decision at this point.
As a junior, Clegg finished the 2021 season with 29 tackles and a team-high nine tackles for loss. He also led the team with five sacks.
USC Recruiting Utah
USC has been hit-or-miss in recruiting the state of Utah, with far more misses than hits in recent years. Defensive tackle Jay Tufele was a huge win in USC’s 2017 class and quarterback Jaxson Dart was a massive addition in the Trojans’ 2021 class.
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But the Trojans missed on Utah’s top prospects in every other year. In 2018, offensive tackle Penei Sewell signed with Oregon. In 2019, wide receiver Puka Nacua flipped his commitment late from USC to Washington. USC saw linebacker Noah Sewell follow his brother to Oregon and the Trojans also couldn’t reel in defensive end Xavier Carlton in the 2020 class. Dart was a positive in 2021, but USC missed on offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia. And in the 2021 class, USC came up empty on four of Utah’s top-10 targets. Quarterback Devin Brown flipped from USC to Ohio State. Linebackers Lander Barton and Carson Tabaracci signed with Utah. And linebacker Harrison Taggart signed with Oregon.
There are a couple of Utah edge defenders on USC’s recruiting board in 2023, with Clegg joined by four-star Tausili Akana.
USC’s 2023 Class
USC’s 2023 recruiting class ranks No. 2 in the nation at this point.
It’s led by Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Malachi Nelson, the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect.
He’ll have a few talented pass catchers coming along with him. Five-star wide receiver Zachariah Branch and four-star receiver Makai Lemon were big recruiting wins for the Trojans.
USC dipped into Texas to grab commitments from two tailbacks. Four-star Quinten Joyner and fellow four-star A’Marion Peterson committed within a few days of each other as USC’s spring ball came to a close.
And the Trojans hold a commitment from a dynamic local safety in three-star talent Christian Pierce.
This is a class that will continue to grow. But head coach Lincoln Riley has also shown how much he values the transfer portal in building his USC roster. That makes these scholarship spots for incoming high school prospects interesting ones to watch.
