WATCH: USC Safety Commit Christian Pierce In Action vs JSerra

Whether it was coming from high school prospects or the NCAA Transfer Portal, there was tremendous momentum with USC recruiting in May.

On May 1 Christian Pierce from Rancho Cucamonga (CA) posted on Twitter his commitment to USC over UCLA and Washington.

Christian Pierce Commits to #USC❕@On3USC #FightOn✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/jTwVhC3RJD

— WeAreSC (@On3USC) May 1, 2022

“I like USC a lot, I really like the coaching staff, I had a really good visits every time I was at USC,” Pierce said.”I like the environment, the coaches are all really cool and it’s USC. It’s kind of the hometown team and they show their appreciation, love and support for me each time I’ve visited. So, there’s no doubt that they have real love and I do appreciate that.”

USC’s Top 2023 Safety Target Since Day One

Last year USC had a clear No. 1 Safety Target in 4-Star Zion Branch from Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas (NV). The Trojans were able to sign Branch after hiring Lincoln Riley as head football coach, Alex Grinch as Defensive Coordinator and retaining Donte Williams as Defensive Backs coach.

This year the Top Safety Target for the Trojans has been and continues to be 3-Star Pierce. He’s one of several highly recruited prospects who’ve hailed from Rancho Cucamonga HS the past decade or so. Cucamonga’s in southern California’s talent-rich Inland Empire. Many of Mater Dei’s and St. John Bosco’s top players have been from this region.

USC signed several four and five star ranked players from the IE in just the past four years. Gary Bryant Jr., Drake Jackson, Korey Foreman, Raesjon Davis, Kyron Ware-Hudson, Justin Dedich, Mason Murphy and Kyle Ford. There were also other talented ballers the Trojans signed in Chase Williams, Jayden Williams and Sivi Nomura.

The Move to Defense in 2021

Although we haven’t spent much time talking about Pierce this offseason, he had a stellar junior season resulting in several media outlets recognizing his play in 2021. He didn’t compete in any 7v7 in the Winter/Spring and didn’t run track this year because he was recovering from a nagging injury.

Pierce proved a quick study playing his first season on defense, recording a team-high 103 tackles, 10 interceptions and five PBU’s for the Cougars. Now Pierce is finally 100 percent healthy and ready to make noise in 2022.

LOCKED IN

What’s been most impressive about Pierce, and there’s a lot to be impressed with, is he announced his USC commitment nearly four months ago and never looked back. He’s not taken one unofficial or official visit anywhere but to USC. He took his official visit June 16-19 when the Trojans hosted 24 prospects.

“Not at all man,” said Pierce when asked if he’s even talking to other schools. “I’m really committed and I’m focusing on my schooling so I can graduate early. Right now I’m just getting prepared for Janaury and I’m ready. I’m really excited.”

What’s Happened Since May 1 with USC Recruiting

As mentioned above, Pierce committed to the Trojans on May 1, but there’s been a lot that’s happened since then. USC’s added WR Jordan Addison, CB Jacobe Covington, LB Carson Tabarraci, Edge Solomon Byrd and DL Sinjin Astani since Pierce’s commitment.

“It’s what I expected,” Pierce said. “It’s one of the reasons I committed there. Lincoln Riley knows what he’s doing and he’s going to take us in the right direction. I’m planning go in there in January and get the next phase of my career going.”

WeAreSC was in San Juan Capistrano Friday night to see Pierce and Rancho Cucamonga play JSerra. The Cougars lost to Serra, but Pierce had a standout performance. Not one pass was thrown his way and he was extremely disruptive from his free safety position.

The Rancho Cucamonga staff did a great job of putting Pierce in a position where they could maximize his impact last night.