It should come as no surprise, as the rumors have been out there for weeks, but 4-star offensive lineman Carde Smith has officially de-committed from the USC Trojans.
A few weeks ago, Smith was seen at a Colorado game with then-USC QB commit Julian Lewis. That started the rumors, and then both 247 Sports and On3 put in predictions that Smith would flip to the Buffaloes.
An announcement of his commitment to CU has not happened yet, but we can now confirm that he will not be a Trojan.
Big Loss For USC Trojans Or Clearing Way For New Recruits?
This is the 2nd de-commitment from Smith during the recruiting process as he was originally committed to Auburn before switching over to USC.
The 6’6, 295-pound tackle out of Mobile, Alabama is a talented offensive lineman with a lot of upside. You never want to lose players like this, but it never really felt like he was all-in on being a Trojan, which is something this staff has emphasized as a real importance.
The Trojans were most likely going to add another offensive lineman regardless, but now they are firmly in the market and have more NIL money to play with.
A few names to keep an eye on:
- 4-Star Alex Payne – Current North Carolina commit (6’5, 265)
- 5-Star Jackson Lloyd – Current Alabama commit (6’6, 280), longshot but from Carmel, California
- 4-Star Jonte Newman – Current Texas A&M commit (6’4, 275), was in the recruiting class with Husan Longstreet before the QB flipped to USC.
We will update this list as we hear more throughout the process.