The dead period has begun: Where things stand
All the official visits have been taken and we’ve entered the dead period leading up to signing day on Wednesday with plenty of balls left in the air for the Trojans.
It seems like it’s been a while since USC got a verbal commit, Amon-Ra St. Brown announcing during the Army game was the most recent, but the vast majority of prospects that were on the board for the Trojans at that time are still in play, guys like Solomon Tuliaupupu, Olaijah Griffin and Penei Sewell.
And the biggest issue the Trojans still have is trying to fit the bodies into a limited-sized class. The exact number of scholarships available has not been made public, I was told to expect it to be in the 16-18 range, as Clay Helton manages potential transfers and other roster movement. The reason the transfers are important is because at the moment the Trojans don’t have any open roster spots when you factor in the recruits who signed during the early signing period and those like St. Brown who are verbally committed (Daniels, Letuligasenoa, Trout) but have not signed yet. Letuligasenoa took an official visit to Washington over the weekend.
Here’s where things stand for the targets remaining on the wish list:
WR Devon Williams: Still a USC vs Oregon battle and he’s a priority for the Trojans with one of the final spots. Will announce at 11am PT on ESPN signing day show.
OL Penei Sewell: This is one of the more hard-to-read recruits in this class, all three schools on his short list (USC, Alabama, Oregon) have plenty of speculation that they could be the final choice. No word on an announcement stream yet, we will post on the site when available.
LB Solomon Tuliaupupu: Solo has narrowed his choices to USC, Notre Dame and UCLA but most speculation has the Trojans as the heavy favorite with late rumor winds coming from Westwood. He will announce at 9:30 PT on the ESPN signing day show.
DB Olaijah Griffin: Most of the rumor winds for Olaijah have been in favor of the Trojans lately although our friend Greg Biggins says don’t rule out the Tide just yet. Griffin will announce at 10am on the ESPN signing day show.
DB Isaac Taylor-Stuart: Isaac (photo above) just took a visit to Tennessee, and he has also visited Alabama and Texas A&M, but the Trojans are still very much an option here. Isaac will announce on signing day but no word yet on streaming or broadcast info.
If spots are available on signing day, two others who have visited in recent weeks and could be options are LB Eli’jah Winston and TE Michael Ezeike.
