USC Recruiting Roundup with Scott Schrader & Dylan Brashier (5/12)

Each week me and our impressive intern from USC’s Anneneberg School of Communications hop on Zoom. At that time we recap some of the interesting USC storylines of the week for our YouTube audience. Our primary focus is on recruiting, but we’ll also touch on other topics each week.

The topics Dylan and I touched on this past week were as follows:

Updates on summer official visits

USC will host numerous high caliber recruits over two weekends in the month of June. Last year the Trojans hosted a massive group of recruits on the weekend of June 17th, this year looks to be no different.

We’ve got THE LATEST on who’s set Official Visits for June. As of May 12, there are 31 top USC targets scheduled to officially visit between May 18 and the end of June.

Scott’s thoughts on the Mater Dei College Showcase he attended

Mater Dei held its 2023 “College Showcase” Thursday at Santa Ana Stadium where the Monarchs play their football games. There are currently three Mater Dei prospects scheduled to officially visit in June. OL DeAndre Carter (6/16) and QB Elijah Brown (6/24) recently set their visits. CB Zabien Brown had set his June 2-4 visit several weeks ago.

2024 RB Nate Palmer’s interest in USC

Having Kiel McDonald be his position coach is an idea Palmer has grown fond of. But playing in a Lincoln Riley designed offense is something takes no growing into. There is nothing better, according to Palmer. 

With Lincoln Riley coming from Oklahoma and him doing the things he’s done in his career, it’s a really nice offense and a really great environment to be around. Really, I wouldn’t have anybody else I’d rather play with.”

“I feel like it’s a great opportunity, especially with the players I would have around me. I feel like they can make me better with Lincoln being my coach and then Coach McDonald being my running backs coach. He can develop me, make me a better running back overall, get me to the next level and make me a better man at the end of the day.”

Emmanuel Okoye and his Top 3 schools

London (EN) NFL Academy four-star EDGE Emmanuel Okoye has narrowed his list to three schools— Tennessee, Texas Tech, and USC.

Okoye ranks as the No. 479 player in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also tabs in as the No. 42 EDGE and the No. 1 player in England.

On3 rates Okoye higher than the rest of the industry, ranking him as the No. 257 overall prospect and No. 24 EDGE. On3 ranks him as a four-star prospect. 

Okoye was in Los Angeles just a handful of weeks ago for an unofficial visit to USC. It was his first and only visit to this time. 

What Okoye told Hayes Fawcett about USC in his top-3

“USC is a great academic school with a great football tradition, great coaches, and teammates. It was a beautiful environment with a lot going on and great weather.”

USC’s #1 Transfer Portal Ranking

USC’s Index Score of 66 this offseason is well clear of No. 2 Colorado, with 57. Colorado and head coach Deion Sanders have dominated talk of the transfer portal this offseason. The Buffaloes have reshaped their roster to a degree unthinkable in college football prior to the transfer portal. A staggering 57 players have left Boulder via the portal this offseason, with 39 newcomers arriving. USC, by comparison, has seen 42 players go and 33 arrive over two offseasons.

This transfer portal class for USC saw its latest addition come in over the weekend. Former four-star defensive back prospect Tre’Quon Fegans announced his commitment to the Trojans following an official visit.

He’s the third commitment for USC following the Trojans’ spring game and conclusion of spring practice. He joins offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon from Wyoming and defensive lineman Bear Alexander from Georgia in giving the Trojans now 14 transfer portal additions this offseason. USC was ranked No. 5 in the transfer portal rankings before Alexander’s commitment in late-April.

On3’s position rankings has USC’s Safety room ranked #6

With spring practice in the books and the second transfer portal window closing, it’s the perfect time to evaluate some pre-summer 2023 positional unit rankings. 

We kickstarted the series on offense, opening with quarterbacks,examining the Top 10 QB rooms in the country in the fall. We’ve also looked at the 2023 running back unit rankings, as well as the 2023 top receiver depth charts and 2023 tight end rooms.

We rounded out the offensive unit rankings looking at the best 10 OL units. 

This week, we looked at the other side of the football, examining the top 10 defensive line/edge units in college football as well as the best linebacker units this fall.

Yesterday we released the Top 10 cornerback units, and today we compete the series with the best safety rooms in 2023. 

The top 10 safety depth charts in 2023…