Offensive tackle Ty Buchanan commits to USC
The Trojans landed their fourth verbal commitment from an offensive lineman in the 2021 recruiting class, as three-star tackle Ty Buchanan (Corpus Christi, Tex./Calallen) announced his commitment to USC on Thursday.
Buchanan’s recruitment changed completely in early August, as the 6-foot-5, 280-pound tackle picked up offers from Colorado, Oklahoma State, USC and others in quick succession. The Trojans were able to make a quick impression and now offensive line coach Tim Drevno has another potential impact addition in this class.
Buchanan is a big body and an absolute mauler in the run game. And he’s another 2021 commitment in this USC class who plays the game with a considerable mean streak and consistently finishes every play through the whistle.
He’s similar to a number of the recent offensive linemen brought in by the Trojans in that there might even be some positional versatility here, as Buchanan definitely looks like a tackle but has that offensive guard mentality that could make him an option inside.
USC won a recruiting battle for Buchanan against Colorado, Oklahoma State, Purdue and Texas Tech, as the three-star prospect moved up his planned commitment date due to the ongoing dead period and uncertainty regarding the recruiting process.
Buchanan is plenty successful off the field as well, as he picked up offers from Dartmouth, Princeton and Yale. This is another situation where the Trojans went into Texas when stumped in California. There were very few potential offensive line targets for the Trojans in state with this class, and after grabbing three of them, USC coaches again turned their attention to Texas, where they have found success over the past few classes. Buchanan is the fourth Texas prospect to commit to USC in this class, joining running back Brandon Campell (Katy, Tex./Katy), wide receiver Quay Davis (Dallas/Skyline) and tight end Lake McRee (Austin, Tex./Lake Travis). He’ll also be the third Texas offensive lineman to sign with USC in the past two classes, as the Trojans landed tackles Courtland Ford and Casey Collier in 2020.
The Trojans now have commitments from four offensive linemen in this 2021 class, as Buchanan is added to previous verbal pledges in four-star tackle Mason Murphy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./JSerra), three-star tackle Saia Mapakaitolo (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) and three-star guard Maximus Gibbs (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco).
After two years of poor numbers along the offensive line in the 2018 and 2019 recruiting classes, the Trojans have loaded up in the past two. USC signed six offensive linemen in the 2020 class and now have these four commitments in 2021.
Now, it will be up to Drevno to coach them up, as just two of the 10 are regarded as four-star prospects and many are seen as projects capable of contributing down the line in their college careers.
USC’s 2021 recruiting class
4* Quarterback Miller Moss (Mission Hills, Calif./Alemany)
4* Quarterback Jake Garcia (Valdosta, Ga./Valdosta)
4* Running back Brandon Campbell (Katy, Tex./Katy)
4* Wide receiver Quay Davis (Dallas/Skyline)
3* Wide receiver Michael Jackson III (Las Vegas/Desert Pines)
3* Tight end Lake McRee (Austin, Tex./Lake Travis)
4* Offensive tackle Mason Murphy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./JSerra)
3* Offensive tackle Saia Mapakaitolo (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain)
3* Offensive tackle Ty Buchanan (Corpus Christi, Tex./Calallen)
3* Offensive guard Maximus Gibbs (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco)
4* Defensive tackle Jay Toia (Simi Valley, Calif./Grace Brethren)
3* Defensive end Colin Mobley (Hyattsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic)
4* Linebacker Ma’a Gaoteote (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco)
4* Linebacker Julien Simon (Tacoma, Wash./Lincoln)
4* Cornerback Philip Riley (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale)
4* Cornerback Prophet Brown (Elk Grove, Calif./Monterey Trail)
4* Cornerback Jaylin Smith (Mission Hills, Calif./Alemany)
4* Safety Anthony Beavers (Harbor City, Calif./Narbonne)
4* Safety Calen Bullock (Pasadena, Calif./Muir)
4* Safety Xamarion Gordon (Downey, Calif./Warren)
