It’s the day college football fans have been waiting for — National Signing Day 2021. For fans of USC Trojans football, it’s not that big of a deal. But this year might be a little different.
Thus far, the Trojans have put together the No. 7 nationally ranked recruiting class for 2021 — and they are ranked second behind Oregon in Pac-12 ranking. Forget step — it’s a huge leap in the right direction after they ranked No. 64 in the nation last year and No. 12 in the conference.
They were able to snag the best player in the country and keep him in LA. Korey Foreman out of Centennial in Corona was very well sought out by over 25 other schools, both in the conference and in other Power 5 conferences.
Foreman is the only five-star recruit for the Trojans, but they are bringing in over a dozen four-star prospects.
While live on 247Sports’ National Signing Day Show, Raesjon Davis out of Mater Dei in Santa Ana announced he is staying close to home and committing to USC.
Davis said he’s known where he wanted to commit for a few days, and he said it was a pretty hard decision while weighing his options.
“With that being said — for the next three to four years — I’ll be taking my talents to the University of Southern California,” he said. “Being able to play early, and being able to come in, work — and I see where the program is going. It looks like it’s going in a great direction. I just like the whole new defensive scheme that they have going on, and I feel like I can fit really well in it.”
Davis is an outside linebacker who is ranked inside the top-50 on 247Sports, and they consider him the fourth-best OLB in the country.
USC defensive coordinator Todd Orlando calls Davis an elite talent and says he will be a big-time playmaker for the Trojans.
247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins spoke highly of Davis in his evaluation in April 2020, calling him one of the most versatile linebackers in the country, but he also reiterated some praise on the show.
“One of the top linebackers, not just locally but nationally,” Biggins said. “I really love his all-around game — to me, he’s kind of a modern-day linebacker in the way he can run, the way he can cover. He actually covers like a hybrid safety, and I think that’s how he’ll be used at the next level.”
Biggins compares Davis to National Champion and Super Bowl Champion, inside linebacker Darron Lee.
Signing Davis means having nine of California’s top-20 players in the 2021 class. The priority to keep local players here is back.
The Trojans also made things official as they announced the arrival of four-star recruit Ceyair Wright out of Loyola in LA on National Signing Day.
Aside from high school recruits, USC was able to pull in two players from the NCAA transfer portal who are former four-star recruits — running back Keaontay Ingram coming from Texas, and wide receiver K.D. Nixon coming from Colorado.
Ingram spent three years at Texas and saw his production decline last season. Nixon spent four years at Colorado and declared for the 2020 NFL draft before changing his mind and returning for his final year.
It’s way too early to look ahead at the 2022 recruiting class, but it’s worth doing anyway. USC is already ranked No. 8 nationally and No. 1 in the conference.
Five-star cornerback prospect Domani Jackson out of Mater Dei — who is ranked third nationally — is committed to USC, along with four-star cornerback prospect Fabian Ross out of Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, four-star pro-style quarterback prospect Devin Brown out of Queen Creek, Arizona, and four-star offensive line prospect Dylan Lopez who is a local athlete that transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida to get an opportunity to continue playing football.
Jackson is the only five-star recruit from California that is committed to a school.
Five-star prospects Tetairoa McMillan, a wide receiver out of Servite in Anaheim; Raleek Brown, a running back out of Mater Dei; and Maalik Murphy, a pro-style quarterback out of Junipero Serra in Gardena — all have outstanding offers from the Trojans.