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USC Football Recruiting: Is There Room for Jordan Parker?

By Michael Castillo

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Things got a bit interesting in USC’s 2016 recruiting class with four-star Jordan Parker de-committing from UCLA. The Trojans have been in on Parker throughout the recruiting process, but does the nation’s 13th best corner fit in?

RELATED: 5 Positions of Need for USC

Currently, Steve Sarkisian has received the commitments of 16 players in a class that only holds 21 scholarships, barring any additional blueshirts counted forward into the 2017 class. That leaves just five rides left to be had.

So without taking into account potential de-commitments, USC could be looking at a situation where they snag a receiver like Tyler Vaughns, a defensive lineman like Jordan Elliott, a swing guy like Devin Asiasi and a pair of defensive backs to fill the remaining five rides.

That pair creates the question of Jordan Parker. Because even if USC were to take three more in addition to C.J. Pollard on Signing Day, there’s a pretty extensive shortlist of targets that Parker is in the middle of.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

For starters, the Trojans are thought to be in good standing with safety Lamar Jackson and Long Beach Poly phenom Jack Jones.

Then there’s David Long of nearby Loyola, Byron Murphy from Arizona, Nigel Knott from Mississippi and Jaylon Jones from Texas.

SEE ALSO: Tracking USC’s 2016 Commitments

All of which have either had USC in their top schools or strongly hinted at coming to Los Angeles for an official visit.

And that doesn’t take into account that committed recruits like Michael Pittman and Trevon Sidney could be potential two-way players at USC despite being recruited as wide receivers.

So Parker, while being a four-star talent at a position of need, is a complicated situation for the Trojans.

Not to mention that his high school teammate and former Cal commit Shurod Thompson didn’t waste any time to tweet ‘package deal’ on Wednesday following Parker’s de-commitment from UCLA.

It’s hard to see USC taking on that tandem as the class stands.

For now, we’ll have to wait to see how the defensive back targets continue to play out, with Long expected to make his decision in the coming weeks and Jackson reportedly set to trim his list.

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