Early this month, 5-star linebacker Xavier Griffin de-committed from the USC Trojans after a mutual decision was made to part ways.
Since Chad Bowen was named general manager, the Trojans have adopted a new policy when it comes to recruiting. Once a prospect commits, they need to be 100% locked in, which means shutting things down and not taking any more visits.
Whether you agree with this philosophy or not, it does protect USC from getting blindsided late in the process and losing premium commits, like they did last year.
Griffin never appeared to waver in his commitment to the Trojans, but he did want to take more visits and keep his options open. This led to the two sides parting ways.
Today, Griffin announced that he will take four official visits in June, and he will announce his commitment on June 29. Immediately after that, On3’s Steve Wiltfong logged an expert prediction of where he would end up.
BREAKING: Five-Star LB Xavier Griffin will announce his Commitment on June 29th, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 28, 2025
The No. 2 LB in the ‘26 Class will choose between Alabama, Florida State, Texas, & Ohio State
He recently decommitted from USC https://t.co/lpmmbnDvOy pic.twitter.com/JCm9KYCC5H
After Leaving USC Trojans, Xavier Griffin Quickly Lands New Prediction
It was just a mere 14 days ago that Griffin and the USC Trojans parted ways, and it now looks like Alabama is the heavy favorite to land Griffin.
“Christian Robinson has been leading the charge in recruiting Griffin to Alabama,” Wiltfong says. “It’s a program he’s always loved. He has family in Tuscaloosa. I think the other three (Texas, Ohio State, Florida State) need to make a move on the Tide in the final month.”
While Griffin currently lives and plays high school football in Georgia, he is from Alabama. The Crimson Tide were always going to remain in the hunt, and the USC Trojans knew that. Which is why they came to a point where they asked Griffin to shut it down, or they could both pursue other opportunities. Obviously, the latter happened.
Also Read: Latest USC Trojans Offensive And Defensive Line Recruiting Intel
The split officially happened on May 14, and the very next morning on the 15th, Benjamin Wolk of 247 Sports put in a crystal ball for Griffin to land at Alabama. This clearly shows that talks were happening and he was being heavily swayed prior to parting ways with SC.
There is no way to spin that losing Griffin was a major loss for Lincoln Riley and the Trojans, but clearly, they were reading the tea leaves and decided to get ahead of it and pursue other prospects to fill that hole.
Thoughts, Trojan Fam?