Dylan Lopez decommits from USC
USC lost the second member of its early 2022 recruiting class, as three-star offensive lineman Dylan Lopez announced his decommitment from the Trojans on Friday morning.
Lopez committed to former USC offensive line coach Tim Drevno back in November and this spring, transferred high schools from Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Lopez is a true center and that hasn't been what USC has typically recruited on the offensive line over the past few classes. Head coach Clay Helton has spoken a number of times about how the Trojans want to bring in high school tackles and see what position they best fit at the next level. Current centers Brett Neilon and Justin Dedich were recruited out of the 2017 and 2018 classes as centers, but from the 2020 recruiting class, USC has moved high school tackle Andrew Milek to center, and has had tackle Jonah Monheim work on snapping as well.
USC's offensive line recruiting will be something to watch in this class. New line coach Clay McGuire will be tasked with bringing in some big names along the line, starting with local four-star prospect Earnest Greene (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco). Four-star prospects Addison Nichols (Norcross, Ga./Greater Atlanta Christian) and Dayne Shor (Alpharetta, Ga./King’s Ridge) have lined up official visits to USC this summer and there are a number of prospects in Washington and Utah with whom USC has shown interest. McGuire has some strong Texas ties as well, so it wouldn't be surprising to see another Texas addition along the line, after USC signed two in the 2020 class and another in the 2021 class.
With the decommitment, USC's 2022 recruiting class features no offensive linemen.
It's led by five-star cornerback Domani Jackson (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) and four-star cornerback Fabian Ross (Las Vegas/Bishop Gorman). The Trojans have their quarterback, in four-star Devin Brown (Queen Creek, Ariz./Queen Creek) and a hybrid tight end/wide receiver in Keyan Burnett (Anaheim, Calif./Servite). And rounding out the five-man class is three-star inside linebacker Ty Kana (Katy, Tex./Katy).
