USC offers trio of Florida teammates
USC coaches continued to attack the 2022 recruiting class on Thursday morning, as the Trojans extended offers to three Florida teammates.
Four-star Hallandale (Fla.) High School safeties Edric Weldon and Alfonzo Allen, as well as linebacker Dylan Reid officially joined the list of USC targets, as each announced an offer from the Trojans on Thursday.
It wouldn't be the first time a Pac-12 program grabbed a trio of Hallandale standouts, as Utah rode its 2016 Hallandale haul of Tyler Huntley, Zack Moss and Demari Simpkins to Pac-12 prominence.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Allen is the highest-rated prospect of the group, checking in at No. 240 overall and the nation's No. 13 safety. He's said he'll be announcing a top 12 schools list soon and it'll be a who's who list for him to choose from, as Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and plenty of others have offered.
Weldon recently announced his top 10, which came before the USC offer. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound safety is the nation's No. 364 overall prospect and No. 20 safety, and listed Alabama, Arizona State, Clemson, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and UCF as his top 10. He said he was unsure whether the offer from USC would shake up that group at this point, but it's likely that Allen's upcoming list will include many of the same programs. Weldon said the plan right now is for the two of them to play together at the next level.
Reid doesn't have the recruiting profile the others have, though it's quickly building. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound inside linebacker played at Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna last season but has since transferred to Hallandale.
He led the team with 67 tackles last season, adding four sacks and a fumble recovery he returned 55 yards for a touchdown. Reid also claims recent offers from Maryland, Penn State, Florida Atlantic and Marshall, and shortly after the USC offer, Reid added one from Oklahoma.
Hallandale's 2016 trio were all regarded as three-star prospects, with Huntley the highest ranked of the three, at No. 565 overall.
USC has a need for safeties in this class, even after signing three high school prospects and adding a college transfer in the 2021 recruiting class. USC signed no defensive backs in the 2020 class.
Linebacker is also a position of need for the Trojans in this class, after again signing nobody at that spot in the 2020 class. In the 2019 class, Maninoa Tufono and Stanley Ta'ufo'ou have both been moved to the defensive line, and USC signed just two linebackers in the 2021 class, in Julien Simon and Raesjon Davis. That means the Trojans have added just five linebackers over the past three classes, with the two newcomers joining Ralen Goforth, Tuasivi Nomura and defensive end/outside linebacker Drake Jackson from the 2019 class.
USC already holds a commitment in the 2022 class from three-star linebacker Ty Kana (Katy, Tex./Katy), who announced his pledge to the Trojans on February 20.
