The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans don’t have the recruiting battles they used to, with the two college football programs now being on different tiers as contenders and other schools getting better at poaching talent in California. That’s what makes for an interesting recruiting duel for a top defensive prospect in North Carolina.
Entering June, UCLA and USC are on different levels recruiting-wise. In the 2025 On3 Team recruiting rankings, the Trojans have the third-ranked class and the Bruins are 29th. There’s a similar gap in the 247 Sports team recruiting ranking, with USC ranked fifth and UCLA 25th.
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According to Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports, UCLA and USC are among the six finalists for Weddington High School (NC) defensive lineman Trajen Odom. It’s projected to be a tight recruiting battle with On3.com’s recruiting prediction machine giving Ohio State a 26.5 percent chance followed by UCLA (18.6 percent) and USC (16 percent).
It’s evident why so many Power 4 programs are interested in the defensive lineman out of North Carolina. Standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing 285 pounds, Odom is one of the best players in the state and is coming off two very productive seasons at the varsity level with 33 tackles for loss in 21 contests.
- Trajen Odom stats (247 Sports): 22 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 1 FF in 10 games
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Odom has offers from across the country, with the Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Tennessee Volunteers, and Oklahoma Sooners among the SEC schools to offer him a scholarship. However, his finalists came down to USC, UCLA, Colorado, Georgia, Ohio State, and Oregon.
Rated as the 40th-best defensive lineman in the country and earning a 0.9054 composite ranking from 247 Sports, Odom has a series of visits lined up in June. The four-star defensive lineman is at Ohio State on June 7, Oregon on June 14, and visits USC on June 21.
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If he were to commit to UCLA, Odom would be the Bruins’ second-best commit of the 2025 class and their third defensive line commit (Scott Taylor and Tyler Partlow. If Odom commits to USC, he would be the Trojans’ sixth-best recruit which already includes heralded defensive linemen Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson.