USC guide to the high school all-star games

by:JohnnyCurren12/27/16
By Johnny Curren With a focus on Trojans commits and targets, here is a quick rundown of the three major upcoming high school all-star games.   * Under Armour All-America Game Location: Orlando Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) Date: Sunday, Jan. 1 Kickoff: 10 a.m. PST T.V.: ESPN   USC commits OL Alijah Vera-Tucker (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O’Dowd) – Team Armour   USC targets OL Calvin Ashley (Washington D.C./St. John's College) – Team Highlight CB Tre Brown (Tulsa, Okla./Union) – Team Highlight DE Markaviest Bryant (Cordele, Ga./Crisp County) – Team Armour DE K’Lavon Chaisson (Galena Park, Texas/North Shore Sr.) – Team Armour TE Josh Falo (Sacramento, Calif./Inderkum) – Team Armour DE D.J. Johnson (Sacramento, Calif./Burbank) – Team Armour DE Ryan Johnson (Mobile, Ala./St. Paul’s) – Team Armour LB Levi Jones (Austin, Texas/Westlake) – Team Highlight OL Alex Leatherwood (Pensacola, Fla./Booker T. Washington) – Team Armour S Isaiah Pola-Mao (Phoenix, Ariz./Mountain Pointe) – Team highlight DT Marvin Wilson (Bellaire, Texas/Episcopal) – Team Armour   Notes Vera-Tucker, who recently helped guide Bishop O’Dowd to a state title, will serve as the lone USC commit in this game, but there are plenty of other prospects whom the coaching staff is still definitely heavily involved with. Jones, who is likely to visit at some point in January, is certainly included in that list. He’s also considering the likes of Florida, Florida State, UCLA and Texas A&M. D.J. Johnson, a Miami commit, took an official visit to USC in late November, and the Trojans are still in the hunt for his signature as well. Leatherwood, an Alabama commit, and Wilson are thought to be long shot targets, but both prospects are scheduled to visit on the weekend of Jan. 20, and each player has already taken an unofficial to USC in the past. Pola-Mao is another player expected to come in that same weekend, while Chaisson will visit on Jan. 27. The staff is also working hard to get Brown, Bryant, Falo and Ryan Johnson on campus at some point in January as well.   * U.S. Army All-American Bowl Location: Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas) Date: Saturday, Jan. 7 Kickoff: 10 a.m. PST T.V.: NBC   USC commits RB Stephen Carr (Fontana, Calif./Summit) – West DE Hunter Echols (Los Angeles, Calif./Cathedral) – West OL Brett Neilon (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) - West   USC targets S Bubba Bolden (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) – West OL Wyatt Davis (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco) – West RB Najee Harris (Antioch, Calif./Antioch) – West CB Darnay Holmes (Calabasas, Calif./Calabasas) – West OL Austin Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon) – West S K.J. Jarrell (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) – West CB Greg Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif./Hawkins) – West CB Deommodore Lenoir (Los Angeles, Calif./Salesian) – West WR Joseph Lewis (Los Angeles, Calif./Hawkins) – West OL Foster Sarell (Graham, Wash./Graham-Kapowsin) - West DT Aubrey Solomon (Leesburg, Ga./Lee County) – East DT Jay Tufele (South Jordan, Utah/Bingham) – West   Notes This game will provide Trojans fans with an opportunity to get a good look at a trio of USC commits in Carr, Echols and Neilon. It should be especially interesting to see how Carr performs as he puts his skills on display against some of the best defensive talent that the nation has to offer. Bolden will announce during this game. He’s down to USC and Ohio State, but the Trojans have gained a lot of momentum with the standout safety in recent weeks. Two more players set to decide in San Antonio are Holmes and Sarell, although it would be somewhat of a surprise if either pick the Trojans. That’s particularly the case with Sarell, who is thought to be leaning to Stanford and Washington ahead of Nebraska, Notre Dame and USC. Holmes, meanwhile, is down to Nebraska, Ohio State, UCLA and USC. There is definite reason to watch the action in the trenches in this contest, and it all begins with Jackson. USC is doing very well with the big offensive tackle, although ASU and UW are also still in the picture. At defensive tackle, Tufele released a top 5 on Monday that included USC along with BYU, Michigan, Ohio State and Utah. He will visit the Trojans on the weekend of Jan 20, while another defensive line target, Solomon, will come in the weekend prior. Jarrell, Johnson and Lenoir are also expected to visit in January. Can USC get Davis and Lewis on campus that month as well? It definitely isn’t out of the realm of possibility.     * Polynesian Bowl Location: Aloha Stadium (Honolulu, Hawaii) Date: Saturday, Jan. 21 Kickoff: 4 p.m. PST T.V.: ESPN3   USC commits LB Juliano Falaniko (Pago Pago, American Samoa/Leone) LB Tayler Katoa (Layton, Utah/Layton) OL Brett Neilon (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic)   USC targets OL/DL Popo Aumavae (Stockton, Calif./St. Mary’s) TE Josh Falo (Sacramento, Calif./Inderkum) RB Cyrus Habibi-Likio (Mountain View, Calif./Saint Francis) RB Sione Heimuli-Lund (Salt Lake City, Utah/Brighton) CB Greg Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif./Hawkins) LB Anthony Pandy (Harbor City, Calif./Narbonne) DT Brandon Pili (Portland, Ore./Westview) S Isaiah Pola-Mao (Phoenix, Ariz./Mountain Pointe) DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa (Kapolei, Hawaii/Kapolei) DT Aliki Vimahi (Kahuku, Hawaii/Kahuku)   Notes In addition to Neilon, two key Trojans linebacker commits are scheduled to play in this game in Falaniko, who will likely play on the outside, as well as Katoa, an early-entrant who projects to the inside. USC made a big impact on Pili during his November visit, but Oregon State is still very much in the mix, and the defensive tackle prospect will visit Washington and Ole Miss in late January before making a decision. Tagovailoa-Amosa visited USC on the same weekend as Pili, and he also had a positive experience. Georgia Tech, Oregon, Navy and Vanderbilt are others competing for his signature. USC is competing with ASU and UW for Pola-Mao.

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