USC Offers Top 2016 QBs K.J. Costello and Shea Patterson

Steve Sarkisian sure loves quarterbacks. The Trojans took a big step towards finding yet another future quarterback this afternoon, with scholarship offers going out to two of the nation’s top juniors: K.J. Costello and Shea Patterson.

The pair both have four-star ratings and are ranked 18th and 40th overall respectively in the 2016 Rivals 100.

Costello, along with Westlake’s Malik Henry, is a highly touted local product, playing for Carson Palmer’s alma mater Rancho Santa Margarita.

“Been dreaming of this ever since I could remember,” Costello tweeted when announcing his scholarship offer Thursday afternoon.

Given his proximity and a childhood of watching the Trojans, you can expect that Costello will be on campus at USC early and often, as he’s taken full advantage of the recruiting process thus far.

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Last month, Costello and his family went on a week-long recruiting barnstorming trip that saw stops at Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Alabama, Notre Dame and Michigan.

As for Shea Patterson, he’s a dual-threat quarterback out the Calvary Academy in Shreveport, La.

Originally committed to Rich Rodriguez’s Arizona Wildcats after his freshman year in 2012, Patterson de-committed on Monday.

In an article by NOLA.com, Patterson said he was opening his commitment up as a means of enjoying the entire recruiting process.

“When I went on a visit to another college, I couldn’t really enjoy myself; now I can,” said Patterson.

Like Costello, he has racked up the miles so far this year too, attending summer recruiting camps at LSU, Alabama, and Oklahoma, in addition to unofficial visits to Clemson, Auburn and Ole Miss.

A trip to Notre Dame in the fall is on the schedule, and now that he’s de-committed from Arizona, it’ll be interesting to see how many unofficial visits he takes this fall.

Do the Trojans have a chance at Patterson? It’ll likely depend on how local recruiting shapes up.

USC and UCLA each would fancy to snag either Henry or Costello, as with Ricky Town and Josh Rosen. But they’re both national prospects that aren’t nearly the locks to stay local as Town and Rosen.

Add Patterson to the mix, and the 2016 class has an absurd depth at quarterback. And that’s not even considering Jacob Eason, a five-star from Lake Stevens, Wash. that committed to Georgia last week.

The Trojans currently have one commitment to the 2016 class, in the form of linebacker Daelin Hayes.