WeAreSC Recruiting Roundup with Scott Schrader & Dylan Brashier (8/28)

Each week me and our impressive intern from USC’s Anneneberg School of Communications hop on Zoom to record our USC Recruiting Roundup. 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.

In this WeAreSC Recruiting Roundup, WeAreSC’s Scott Schrader and Dylan Brashier discuss:

5-Star 2026 quarterback Juju Lewis’ commitment to USC

The recruitment of Julian Lewis got started very early and ended it early as well. The No. 1 prospect in the 2026 On3 Industry Rankings has committed to Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans on Tuesday (8/22).

Lewis had national offers. He was wanted by schools like Alabama, Georgia, Ohio Stateand other powerhouse programs. But he has seen the development of quarterbacks under Riley and that led him across the country. 

“At the end of the day, it is about what Coach Riley does with quarterbacks,” Lewis told On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons. “Coach Riley develops quarterbacks, he really knows how to manage the room and he knows how to feature guys at that position. The track record he has with quarterbacks really made a big difference in my recruitment.

“I thought it would be January or next spring before I made my decision, but the timing and the school just made too much sense,” he said. “There was no reason to wait any longer. I felt strong about USC, they made me feel like their guy and the timing just happened earlier than I thought it would.”

4-Star LB Chris Cole Sets September 2 USC Official Visit

WeAreSC Recruiting Roundup video can be seen at the top of this story.

JuCo Cornerback Sione Laulea Includes USC in Top 3

College of Mateo (CA) cornerback Sione Laulea is one of the top junior college prospects in the 2024 class. 

Laulea, a now very coveted power five cornerback prospect, has trimmed his recruitment once again ahead of his eventual decision. This time, he is down to three schools. 

His finalists are made up of USC, Miami, and Oregon. He eliminated Penn State and Oklahoma from his last update a few weeks back. 

Laulea has taken official visits to all three of his finalists.

Laulea is one of the top ranked junior college prospects in the nation, holding a 91 rating and 4-star rank in the On300 rankings. 

The 6-foot-3.5 and 185 pounder would provide a college experienced player to Williams’s defensive backs room at USC. Next season the Trojans will need younger guys to step up and replace the likes Jacobe Covington, Max Williams, Calen Bullock and Bryson Shaw.

Oregon currently leads the On3 RPM at nearly 83.6% chance to land the four-star. Penn State was thought to be one of the biggest threats in his recruitment at this time, but he left the Nittany Lions off his list. Laulea has not given a commitment date but it would appear he plans on announcing prior to his upcoming season.

4-star EDGE Jaylen Harvey Update

Four-Star Quince Orchard Edge Jaylen Harvey revealed a top three of Maryland, Penn State, and USC about 10 days ago. He originally released a top five in June, which featured three schools listed above. 

Harvey is the No. 348 overall prospect and No. 27 EDGE in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 99 player in Maryland. 

Harvey took official visits to each school in June. He first visited Penn State on June 2, followed by USC on June 16, and Maryland on June 23. 

That official visit to USC was a huge success and left the Trojans feeling like they were in a good place moving forward. Right now we believe it’s USC versus Penn St.

“My interest in USC was already there, but when I went up there, I felt like I was home,” said Harvey about the USC official visit. “I felt like I could be myself up there around the coaches and players. Out of all my official visits, USC was No. 1.

“The people out there in Cali are calm, cool, collected and keep to themselves. That’s the kind of person I am.”

Recruits Who attended USC Game vs San Jose St.

USC hosted its first group of recruits since July 31 at the Coliseum Saturday. The Trojans defeated San Jose St. 56-28 before 63+k fans in the 2023 season opener. The first game of the season typically doesn’t draw an overly large group of prospects, but the visitor lists will get bigger each week. Especially with Stanford traveling to play USC in two weeks. WeAreSC hit up several commits and top targets after the season opening victory.

Among the notable visitors were 4-Star Gaithersburg (MD) Edge Jaylen Harvey, 4-Star USC CB commit Braylon Conley, 4-Star WR commit Ryan Pellum, 4-Star Los Alamitos (CA) CB Isaiah Rubin, 3-Star Rancho Cucamonga CB Elyjah Gordon, 5-Star 2025 Mission Viejo (CA) CB Dijon Lee, 2026 Loyola CB Brandon Lockhart and 2027 Huntington Beach (CA) QB Brady Edmunds. There were others, but we haven’t gotten confirmation on who yet.

Harvey told WeAreSC last week he plans to announce his school choice in the upcoming weeks. It could happen as soon as this week. We’ll head out to Quince Orchard HS later today to see Harvey and get THE LATEST. Harvey’s father Earnie Harvey posted a photo from Coliseum Saturday night after the game.