USC's social celebration: Michael Jackson III commitment
USC coaches, staff and committed prospects took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to celebrate the newest addition of the Trojans' 2021 recruiting class, as wide receiver Michael Jackson III (Las Vegas/Desert Pines) joined USC's top-five class.
With that name and coming from that city, coaches didn't need to think too hard about potential gif celebrations. And while coaches are unable to specifically mention a prospect before he signs his letter of intent, there were plenty of Michael Jackson and Las Vegas related celebrations.
Wide receiver coach Keary Colbert has to be excited about the newest addition to his room. Jackson is a tremendously hard worker with great football IQ and the ability to line up at multiple positions in the offense. Jackson said the USC coaches have compared him to Amon-Ra St. Brown, and with how these coaches feel about St. Brown, that's not a comparison they're going to throw around lightly.
And Colbert doubled down on his celebration, going with a Las Vegas and a Jackson theme.
Safeties coach Craig Naivar, a coach who has been active on social media since his arrival at USC, went with Jackson as well, tossing a play on a lyric into the mix.
If he signs with USC, Jackson will be added to a tremendously talented group of wide receivers at USC. Drake London, Kyle Ford, Bru McCoy, Munir McClain and John Jackson III will be in their third years, while Gary Bryant Jr. and Joshua Jackson Jr. will be in their second. There's also a chance that St. Brown could still be around for his fourth year. Jackson could be part of a wide receiver class this season that also features Quay Davis (Dallas/Skyline) and potentially another addition.
Tight ends coach John David Baker has a position group that is plenty talented, but he understands what kind of talent Colbert has to work with.
The best exchange between Trojans came when USC Director of Scouting Trey Johnson tweeted a gif of LenDale White scoring a touchdown. This did not sit well with defensive line coach Vic So'oto.
Johnson has been the go-to gif creator on the USC staff to celebrate commitments, usually photoshopping heads of USC coaches onto dancing bodies. So'oto relayed his disappointment to Johnson, saying, "Trey's GIF game has fallen off."
Johnson responded with the second tweet.
Of course, it wouldn't be a twitter celebration without running back commit Brandon Campbell (Katy, Texas/Katy). He has been one of the more vocal and public recruiters for USC's class.
The previous USC commit, quarterback Miller Moss (Mission Hills, Calif./Alemany), announced his pledge on Monday afternoon, and he's already making it known that he'll be an active recruiter for the Trojans. There could be plenty to be said about it by fellow quarterback commit Jake Garcia (La Habra, Calif./La Habra), but this might not be the last time USC fans see the Moss-to-Jackson connection during their Trojan careers.
Assistant Athletic Director and Director of Player Development Gavin Morris went with a Michael Jackson celebration, and made sure to tag it with #TakeBackTheWest, as USC added another commitment from a region the Trojan coaches have said repeatedly is important to dominate if they are going to get back to the top of the Pac-12 standings--both in recruiting and on the field.
USC Offensive Graduate Assistant Viane Talamaivao and USC Director of High School Relations Armond Hawkins got in on the celebratory posts as well.
Our story on Jackson's commitment to USC: Michael Jackson III commits to USC
