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SCliff Notes: NCAA Loopholes Help Trojans Beat NCAA Sanctions and More USC Football News

By Alicia de Artola

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Can’t get enough USC football? We’ve got your morning dose of all the best content from around the web concerning the men of Troy.

1st & 10:

Loophole Justice… There’s a certain poetry to it.

The same year that USC finally comes free of crippling NCAA sanctions, the Trojans could use the NCAA’s own loopholes to recover even faster than expected from the penalties.

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That loophole is, as cringe-worthy as the term may be, oversigning. The same practice which caused rightful outrage among Trojan fans for so many years could actually be USC’s salvation this recruiting season.

And thankfully, it will come in a much more palatable form than the brand often found in the SEC.

That’s because USC’s potential oversigning this season is set to remain above board. There’s no cutting of players on tap. Instead of an oversigning bloodbath, there’s just blue.

Blue shirts that is. (If you’re confused by the term, click here.)

While there’s still plenty to play out, the planned blueshirting of offensive lineman Clayton Johnston and perhaps others means USC can fill the roster without jeopardizing the future of athletes caught in crossfire.

The Trojans were already at the head of the class, announcing over the summer that they would begin offering four-year athletic scholarships instead of the year-to-year renewals.

Employing the blueshirt strategy means getting the best of both worlds for USC. Players, like Johnston and Matt Boermeester before him, who want to be Trojans get their scholarship and USC gets much needed help on the depth chart right away.

In Other News…

  • A certain Trojan recruiting target has elected to take an official visit to USC today. The three-star defensive tackle listed USC among his top five and will announce his commitment decision on Signing Day. (Reign of Troy)
  • Speaking of the defensive line, Greg Katz explored the importance of nabbing Southern California talent in the trenches. Specifically, one Rasheem Green. (ESPN.com)
  • Kyle Kensing lays out USC’s Signing Day wish list, which happens to include Green and another Serra product. (Bleacher Report)
  • It was linebackers who made USC’s 2005 class one of the best of the past decade, according to Brian Leigh. (Bleacher Report)
  • What are the odds USC nabs another impact linebacker in Porter Gustin? Damon Sayles thinks they’re pretty good. (Bleacher Report)
  • Last week, USC lost a pair of commits. Over the weekend, Tristan Payton and Taeon Mason both pledged their services to new schools. (Reign Of Troy)
  • Michael Lev has a full slate of recruiting profiles for the new class. Most recently, he took a look at RoJo 2.0. (OC Register)
  • USC was among Peter Berkes’ top six winners of the most recent recruiting weekend. (SB Nation)
  • Could George Farmer’s departure for the NFL have been tied to a number dispute? (Inside USC)
  • The Pac-12 is the most well represented conference in this year’s Super Bowl, three familiar names from USC will participate. Oh and there’s that coach guy too. (Pacific Takes)

Reign Of Troy Radio:

The latest episode of Reign Of Troy Radio features host Michael Castillo, Reign of Troy editor Alicia de Artola, Trenise Ferreira of the Pac-12 Network and Josh Webb of USCFootball.com and BarkBoard.com tackling Signing Day prospects, reflecting on NFL early entrants and debating the value of a pair of wide receivers named Smith.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Stat of the Day:

USC has seven players in Rivals’ Top 100 prospect rankings.

Tweets of the Day: