Last updated July 1 at 6:42 p.m. PST

USC football head coach Lincoln Riley has brought in a new defensive staff and the results are showing up on the recruiting trail. While National Signing Day for 2025 is still many months away, the Trojans have momentum that might create the best USC recruiting class in recent memory.

The Trojans will need to put on a good showing in the 2024-25 season to be able to sign all of these highly touted recruits, but USC has the pieces to make a special recruiting class and it shows up in the rankings. As of July 1, the Trojans rank 16th in On3′s recruiting rankings and 21st in 247Sports’ rankings.

Follow along with Annenberg Media’s live tracker of everyone who has committed to USC. Authored by Thomas Johnson, Terence Holton, Kasey Kazliner and Jude Reynolds Ocañas.

Commitments

Corey Simms: Wide Receiver

High School (Location): Christian Brothers College (St. Louis, Missouri)

On3 ranking: Three star (No. 293 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Three star (No. 257 in national composite rankings)

Committed: June 30

Johnson: Corey Simms is USC’s second wideout commit of the class, joining Romero Ison. Simms is only ranked as a three-star recruit by 247Sports and On3, but is a top-100 player according to Rivals. With such a wide range of rankings, Simms is likely to get a rating boost among the other recruiting outlets.

At 6-foot-3, Simms has good size at the position and will provide the Trojans a dynamic weapon when he gets onto campus. CBC, Simms’ high school, is a powerhouse in St. Louis and USC will get the highest-ranked player from Missouri’s Class 6 state runner-up in 2023.

Shamar Arnoux: Cornerback

High School (Location): Carrollton (Carollton, Georgia)

On3 ranking: Three star (No. 495 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Three star (No. 373 in national composite rankings)

Committed: June 26

Johnson: A high school teammate with USC commit Julian Lewis, Arnoux gave his verbal pledge to the Trojans amid constant rumors that Lewis would be flipping his commitment. Arnoux is now the second cornerback committed to USC in this cycle to bolster up the defensive side of the class.

Before Arnoux announced his school choice, the Trojans were losing defensive pledges left and right (see below for more). A defensive commitment came as a breath of fresh air for USC, and it only makes it sweeter that this defender is from Georgia. While the Trojans missed out on signing the most elite recruits out of the Peach State this cycle, Arnoux could represent a good future for USC.

Hayden Lowe: Edge Rusher

High School (Location): Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, California)

On3 ranking: Four star (No. 214 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Four star (No. 242 in national composite rankings)

Committed: June 9

Holton: Lowe becomes the fourth defensive lineman added to USC’s stellar 2025 recruiting class and the second edge rusher, behind Isaiah Gibson — who 247Sports recently gave a five-star rating.

Lowe stands at 6-foot4 and 240 pounds with explosiveness off the edge. While he could stand to gain a bit more weight when he gets on campus, his speed and ability to get to the quarterback with ease is what pops off the charts.

Currently, Lowe holds 29 offers, including from vaunted SEC giants such as Alabama, Georgia and Texas.

Lowe’s commitment highlights two things for the future of USC recruiting:

1. New co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Eric Henderson has been recruiting his tail off, and his effect on USC’s culture and recruiting is already showing, especially on the defensive side.

2. USC is retaining recruits from Southern California. It was not long ago where Lowe would have been swooped up by Oregon — Oaks Christian Alumni and current edge rusher for the New York Giants Kayvon Thibodeaux is a prime example — but the culture for Riley and the Trojans seems to be trending in the right direction.

Willi Wascher: Offensive Lineman

High School (Location): Bellevue HS (Bellevue, Washington)

On3 ranking: Three star (No. 978 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Three star (No. 992 in national composite rankings)

Committed: April 12

Johnson: Wascher is USC’s first offensive line commit in this cycle and is just starting to make his way into the national limelight. Wascher only had offers from Miami, USC and Nevada, according to 247Sports. It is odd for an athlete to only have three offers with two of them to Power Five programs.

The rankings certainly don’t paint Wascher as a top-end recruit, but at the end of the day, a star rating is just a star rating. Offensive line coach Josh Henson has mainly signed three stars in his time at USC, but he has a strong track record of sending linemen to the NFL, dating back to his days at Texas A&M.

Romero Ison: Wide Receiver

High School (Location): Baltimore City College (Baltimore, Maryland)

On3 ranking: Four star (No. 421 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Three star (No. 408 in national composite rankings)

Committed: April 9

Johnson: What Ison lacks in size — standing at just over 5-foot-10 — he makes up for with elite speed that can blow off the top of a defense. The Trojans already have a good mix of speed and size on their current roster. Sophomore wide receiver Zachariah Branch brings the speed, and sophomore wide receiver Duce Robinson brings the size. Ison will be able to complement USC’s wide receiver room well when he gets on campus.

Similar to Branch, Ison also has experience with punt returning and can be a special teams weapon for the Trojans.

Daune Morris: Athlete

High School (Location): Oakland HS (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)

On3 ranking: Three star (No. 529 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Three star (No. 471 in national composite rankings)

Committed: April 7

Johnson: Daune Morris would be USC’s first signee from Tennessee since 2019, further proving USC’s national reach when it comes to recruiting this cycle. While he is listed as an athlete, his 5-foot-10 frame suggests he’ll most likely play as a tailback in college. Morris earned Tennessee All-State honors this past season after notching 36 total touchdowns and will provide some fantastic speed to the running back room. Morris has experience running out of the wildcat position and showed off some elite cutting abilities to find holes in defense.

Harry Dalton III: Running Back

High School (Location): Dinwiddie County (Dinwiddie, Virginia)

On3 ranking: Four star (No. 486 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Three star (No. 444 in national composite rankings)

Committed: April 7

Johnson: Harry Dalton III was the first of two offensive commits for USC on April 7. Similar to Morris, Dalton III is listed as an athlete on some recruiting sites. But with his 5-foot-11 stature, he will likely play under running backs coach Anthony Jones Jr. once he’s on campus. Dalton III is an incredibly physical back, playing like a truck with his 205-pound body weight.

With the way he plays in high school and since he is not the tallest back in the world, Dalton III will likely need to add some more weight to be effective at the next level.

Trestin Castro: Cornerback

High School (Location): Upland HS (Upland, California)

On3 ranking: Four star (No. 466 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Four star (No. 462 in national composite rankings)

Committed: April 2

Johnson: Trestin Castro is one of only two USC commitments from California, as of April 8. Castro is good at reading the quarterback’s eyes and has great closing speed to undercut routes for either interceptions or pass breakups.

Castro was only a three-star recruit when he first committed, but that’s likely because his high school competes in the Baseline League, which is less regarded than the Trinity or Mission Leagues in California. Mission League teams like St. John Bosco and Mater Dei always have the top recruits, but that should not take away from Castro’s skill, especially if the 2023 Baseline League Defensive MVP can add some weight. Castro got bumped up to four-star status by both On3 and 247Sports in a recent rankings update, showing how undervalued he was at the beginning of the cycle.

Matai Tagoa’i: Linebacker

High School (Location): San Clemente HS (San Clemente, California)

On3 ranking: Four star (No. 83 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Four star (No. 78 in national composite rankings)

Committed: April 1

Johnson: Matai Tagoa’i was the first at the position in the 2025 class to commit to new linebackers coach Matt Entz. Tagoa’i is one of three linebackers from California who rank in the top 15 at the position, with Tagoa’i the highest rated of the three by 247Sports. If Entz and the Trojans can lock down the other two, USC will have one of the best linebacker classes in the country.

Linebacker is a position of need for the Trojans after this season, as four players projected to take up a bulk of the playing time are seniors or redshirt seniors. Only four players on the spring 2024 roster are non-seniors, meaning the highly ranked Tagoa’i could see playing time very early on in his USC career.

Riley Wormley: Running Back

High School (Location): Southlake Carroll HS (Southlake, Texas)

On3 ranking: Three star (No. 415 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Three star (No. 488 in national composite rankings)

Committed: March 31

Johnson: Another commit, another running back recruit in Riley Wormley. The Trojans have started to build a running back pipeline from Texas. Three of the backs on the roster — sophomore Quinten Joyner, sophomore A’Marion Peterson and freshman Bryan Jackson — all hail from Texas, out of seven Texans on the roster. This trend has continued, despite a new running backs coach in Jones Jr. this season.

Gus Cordova: Defensive Lineman

High School (Location): Lake Travis HS (Austin, Texas)

On3 ranking: Three star (No. 594 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Three star (No. 577 in national composite rankings)

Committed: March 24

Johnson: Cordova was one of four players to commit to USC on March 24 and the third defensive line commit of that day. While Cordova was the lowest-rated commitment of the trio of recruits, the Trojans will take any defensive line help they can get after the last two seasons of sub-par defense.

However, Cordova’s commitment cannot be mentioned without an unfortunate incident that took place during his high school career. According to reports, Cordova allegedly knew of his teammate Carter’s peanut allergy, but he still “sprinkled a handful of peanuts in Carter’s cleats and placed a few more into the locker.” Cordova did say he “returned to the locker the following morning and removed the peanuts” before Carter came into contact, but some residue left over still caused Carter to develop a rash.

USC still recruited Cordova and he is committed, but this story — which is surrounded by hazy details and misinformation — is one to keep an eye on before the defensive lineman gets on campus.

Julian Lewis: Quarterback

High School (Location): Carrollton HS (Carrollton, Georgia)

On3 ranking: Five star (No. 9 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Five star (No. 9 in national composite rankings)

Committed: August 22

Johnson: Every single elite recruiting class needs a cornerstone piece. That cornerstone not only signals that a school is ready to do business, but that player can help recruit others to the school. Terry is that piece on the defensive side, but Lewis will be the offensive cornerstone. Riley is a quarterback whisperer and will look to turn a talented Lewis into USC’s next Heisman Trophy candidate.

That is, if Lewis ever steps foot on campus. Given how highly rated Lewis is, and because he goes to high school in Georgia, the talented quarterback has many suitors who are trying to turn him away from USC. There are many factors which go into a recruitment, but if Lewis solely looks at Riley’s success rate of Heisman winners and NFL quarterbacks, the Trojans should be able to ink one of the best quarterbacks in the class. It is never that simple, though, and Lewis’ recruitment will come down to the moment he signs with a school.

Decommitments

Hylton Stubbs: Safety

High School (Location): Mandarin HS (Jacksonville, Florida)

On3 ranking: Four star (No. 65 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Four star (No. 60 in national composite rankings)

Committed/Decommitted: March 24 - June 27

Johnson: Stubbs had an incredible junior season, notching 97 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, six interceptions and six pass break-ups to earn a top-100 ranking. While he is a touch shorter, Stubbs might remind Trojan fans of former USC safety Calen Bullock because of their respective ball-hawk abilities. The Florida native also gets downhill quickly and is able to finish tackles in open space.

Decommitment note: Stubbs was one of the first recruits to commit to USC in this cycle, but decommitted on June 27 and opened up his recruitment. As of July 1, he had not announced his new school choice, but is scheduled to make his decision public on July 4. Stubbs is likely going to choose either Florida or Miami.

Justus Terry: Defensive Lineman

High School (Location): Manchester HS (Manchester, Georgia)

On3 ranking: Five star (No. 8 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Five star (No. 8 in national composite rankings)

Committed/Decommitted: March 24 - June 19

Johnson: Terry is the reason the Trojans hired Eric Henderson to be their new defensive line coach. There are few coaches who could recruit a high-caliber player like Terry in Georgia’s backyard — the same Georgia that won back-to-back national championships in 2022 and 2023. What makes the verbal pledge even more impressive is that Terry had been committed to the Bulldogs since January 2023 before flipping to USC.

Terry already has a college-ready build, standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 275 pounds. There are few high school athletes who can say they are 275 pounds heading into their final year at the prep level, and the defensive lineman still likely has room to grow.

Decommitment note: USC and Henderson couldn’t keep the verbal commitment of Terry, showing how important it is to have a good product on the field for the Trojans this upcoming season. Before USC can sign any high-level defensive recruits, it needs to show it can play good defense on the gridiron.

Isaiah Gibson: Defensive Lineman

High School (Location): Warner Robins HS (Warner Robins, Georgia)

On3 ranking: Four star (No. 36 in national industry rankings)

247Sports ranking: Four star (No. 57 in national composite rankings)

Committed/Decommitted: March 24 - June 18

Johnson: Gibson can get to the quarterback in a variety of ways, either by utilizing his quick speed off the edge or just bullying through offensive tackles. Gibson could be an impact the first season he’s on campus, already weighing in at over 240 pounds before his senior year of high school.

Gibson might be overshadowed by his Georgian counterpart — see below for more information — but the Trojans have not had success recruiting many defensive lineman like Gibson in the past few years.

Decommitment note: One of the best edge rushers in this class, Gibson’s roots pulled him back as he committed to Georgia less than a week after rescinding his verbal pledge from USC. The Trojans tried to start a strong recruiting foothold right in SEC country, but it seems they will not be able to fully cement themselves in the area this cycle.