USC recruiting roundup as new coaches extend new offers

On3 imageby:Erik McKinney02/19/20

ErikTMcKinney

With USC’s coaching staff officially assembled, the new Trojan assistants continued to hit the recruiting trail hard this past week.

New offers went out all over the country, with the new assistants spending a lot of time going back to relationships they formed with prospects while at their previous positions.

So’oto goes east

Last week, after USC cornerbacks coach Donte Williams officially started as a Trojan, he extended several offers across the country to some of the top cornerbacks in the country. This week, as So’oto was officially announced by USC, the defensive line coach extended offers to some of the top defensive linemen in the country.

Defensive end/outside linebacker Demeioun Robinson (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard) was offered by USC on Wednesday. He’s the nation’s No. 3 overall prospect according to ESPN. Robinson recently released a top-13 list that did not include USC, but did include Virginia, where So’oto previously coached.

That’s also the case with recent USC offer Maason Smith (Houma, La./Terrebonne), the nation’s No. 3 defensive tackle and a five-star prospect. Smith will be a tough pull out of the Southeast, but he did have Virginia in his top-10 list that he released back in October. So’oto will clearly continue to push for Smith.

USC also got in the mix for four-star defensive tackle Katron Evans (Baltimore/St. Frances Academy) and four-star defensive end Aaron Armitage (Blairstown, NJ/Blair Academy). Both have prior relationships with So’oto and hold Virginia offers. It will be interesting to watch how many of these national prospects USC can get on campus for camps or visits this spring and summer.

Offers are bigger in Texas

At this rate, USC is going to push the Lonestar State schools for the most offered players in Texas. It makes sense, as offensive coaches Graham Harrell, Mike Jinks and John David Baker, and defensive coaches Todd Orlando and Craig Naivar have long histories in the state.

Baker got in the mix this week, extending an offer to tight end Elijah Arroyo (Frisco, Texas/Independence). The four-star prospect has some major offers already, with Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Penn State, Texas and Texas A&M already in the picture.

Naivar offered 2021 safety Isaiah Nwokobia (Dallas/Skyline) and dipped into the 2022 class as well, with offers to two of the best in the nation in Cristian Driver (Argyle, Texas/Liberty Christian) and Bryce Anderson (Beaumont, Texas/West Brook). Anderson is an LSU commitment, but his relationship with Naivar could at least keep USC in the conversation.

Another handful of offers in Texas went out to wide receiver Hal Presley (Arlington, Texas/Mansfield Summit), running back Jordan Jenkins (Lindale, Texas/Lindale), linebacker Terrence Cooks (Pearland, Texas/Shadow Creek), offensive tackle Jack Tucker (Argyle, Texas/Argyle) and 2022 cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau (Port Arthur, Texas/Memorial).

USC will try to make a sizable impact in Texas with this class after grabbing two Texas linemen in the 2020 class, including tackle Courtland Ford.

Ford’s father, Clinton Ford, was one of several people to notice USC’s activity in the area.

Rounding up the rest

Several of the other offers that went out this week include cornerback Phillip Riley (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale), who also grabbed a recent offer from Clemson, as the big school are beginning to take note, safety Jaylen Reed (Detroit/King), athlete Jantzen Dunn (Bowling Green, Ky./South Warren) wide receiver Calen Bullock (Pasadena, Calif./Muir), cornerback Ryan Barnes (Gaitherberg, Md./Quince Orchard) and 2022 running back Tychaun Chapman (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne), who attends the same school as 2021 No. 1 cornerback Tony Grimes.

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