The USC Trojans missed out on local 5-star EDGE Richard Wesley when he announced his commitment to the Oregon Ducks yesterday, in a video from his visit to Eugene.
Elite 2026 EDGE Richard Wesley and Oregon HC Dan Lanning celebrate the big commitment🦆https://t.co/Bpa7430zkW pic.twitter.com/qi2pcBu4hC
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 11, 2025
While the commitment to Dan Lanning and the Ducks is very real, based on a new interview from Rivals, it sounds like Wesley’s recruitment is still very much open, and his final decision is far from final.
Richard Wesley’s Recruitment Still Open, USC Trojans Still In Mix
According to Rivals, this was the first trip that Wesley took to Oregon unaccompanied by his father or anyone else close to him. Those close to him view this as an “impulsive decision” by a 16-year-old.
Wesley recently reclassified from the 2027 class to the 2026 class, so in reality, he is just entering his junior year of high school and is extremely young.
“We don’t have anything set in stone with Oregon as far as the full package,” his father, Jonathan Wesley, told Rivals. “As far as we’re concerned, we like Oregon a lot. But there is still some fine-tuning that we need to do.”
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The USC Trojans have certainly recruited Wesley, but not as hard as some other schools. They are already pretty loaded at the position, but adding someone like Wesley would only make them stronger. If they make him a priority, it sounds like Coach Eric Henderson and the staff will certainly have an opportunity to flip him.
According to Rivals, Wesley talked about his official visit schedule last weekend at the Under Armour Camp in Los Angeles, which includes:
- Oregon
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Texas A&M
- Tennessee
- USC Trojans
Whether he ends up taking all of these visits after committing to Oregon remains to be seen.
“It was kind of like a shock,” Johathan Wesley continued to Rivals. “We had a plan set in stone, but I guess the over-excitement. … This whole process is a lot on a kid, it’s a lot on us as adults. Ultimately, when I talked to him, he didn’t tell me to shut the recruiting down, and he’s still very much open and interested in other places. This definitely isn’t a final decision because there’s a lot to be finalized.”
While Wesley did commit to Oregon, based on these statements, this sounds about as loose of a commitment as there is.
Wesley is the 4th-ranked EDGE in the 2026 class, according to On3 Industry Rankings. With his recruitment still very open, USC will have plenty of opportunities to flip him.