Too Many 3-Star Commits and More USC Football News

Do the Trojans have too many three-star commits in the Class of 2017? Is there something to worry about? Plus more USC football news from around the web.

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

1st & 10:

First Word… Does USC have too many three-star commits?

That’s the question that has been floating around online for a few weeks now — the one that replaced “why doesn’t USC have more commits” after the Trojans hauled in four pledges this month.

Inevitably, it cropped up again Monday shortly after three-star tight end Erik Krommenhoek committed to USC on Twitter.

Another three-star? Why aren’t there more four- and five-stars? What’s going on?

What’s going on is that USC has entered the post-sanctions era. The answer to the rest is that three-star commits are a great thing for the Trojans.

It’s been awhile and might take a bit of getting used to, but having 25 scholarships means you can afford to mine the ranks of three-star recruits for gems.

Take, for example, USC’s 2002 and 2003 classes which featured double digit hauls of three-star guys, many of whom went on to great success as Trojans including Mike Williams, Oscar Lua, Terrell Thomas, Ryan Kalil, Fili Moala, Chilo Rachal and Josh Pinkard.

This year’s team is also littered with former three-stars ready to make an impact. Chad Wheeler, Malik Dorton, Uchenna Nwosu, John Plattenburg, Olajuwon Tucker, 

Last year, in a class of 20 rides, USC added six three-stars. They’ll hope to get a similar return on investment on those players as has come in the past.

This year, there are seven currently committed — and just like last year, it’s probable that some of that number may not ultimately sign on.

Not every class can be loaded to the brim with five-star or four-star studs. Even then, USC hasn’t missed out on signing a sizable number of those elite recruits for 2017.

Most importantly, talent evaluation shouldn’t put too much of a premium on counting star ratings in the first place. If USC’s coaches are identifying a trait — whether it be work ethic, development potential or attitude — in the three-star commits they take on that they want at USC then that’s a good thing. That’s how teams form an identity.

And Ten USC Football and Basketball News Links…

1. “Tom Kelly, longtime voice of USC sports, dies at 88” (Daily News)Longtime Los Angeles sportscaster Tom Kelly, most famous for being the voice of USC football for four decades, died of cancer Monday morning. Tom Hoffarth penned his obituary for the Daily News.
2. “DeMar DeRozan Named to USA Olympic Roster” (Reign Of Troy)Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan was named to the USA basketball Olympics team, becoming the first Trojan to ever achieve that honor.
3. “Does it matter what Trojans look like in summer” (USCFootball.com)Dan Weber tries to make heads and tails of how to evaluate USC’s summer workouts with lots of reasons to expect an improved Trojan team but also plenty of reasons to wonder what the bigger, faster, stronger, more together team will produce in crunch time.
4. “Ranking All 128 CFB Head Coaches for 2016” (Campus Insiders)Clay Helton checks in at No. 61 on Pete Fiutak’s ranking of all the head coaches in college football. That’s at least in front of Cal’s Sonny Dykes and Colorado’s Mike MacIntyre and just two spots behind UCLA’s Jim Mora.
5. “USC 2016 Offense Preview: Need a QB & Not Much Else” (SB Nation)Eric Murtaugh does a nice job previewing USC’s offense from the outsider’s perspective, noting the Trojans’ great strengths on the offensive line and with playmakers being clouded by questions about the quarterback transition and coaching quality.
6. “Pac-12: Teams facing the most pressure in 2016” (Sporting News)USC is No. 4 on Lisa Horne’s ranking of teams with the most pressure in the conference. Stanford sat at No. 12 with Washington facing the greatest pressure to deliver on a load of preseason hype.
7. “Ranking nation’s Top 25 CFB running backs” (Sporting News)Ronald Jones is the No. 18 running back in the nation heading into 2016. He’s behind Pac-12 rivals in Washington’s Myles Gaskin, Oregon’s Royce Freeman and, unsurprisingly, the nation’s top back Christian McCaffrey.
8. “Vegas Releases Updated Spreads for 100 CFB Games” (College Spun)Matt Lombardi has updated spreads for USC’s games against Stanford (-6.5), Utah (+1), Oregon (+3.5), Washington (-6), UCLA (-3.5) and Notre Dame (+6.5).
9. “College Football Betting: 2016 Pac-12 Preview” (Sports Book Review)Despite the rough schedule, USC is the predicted champion for the Pac-12 with 6/1 odds of winning the conference.
10. “System guy or star? Norman, Peterson not the same” (NFL.com)Bucky Brooks lists Clay Matthews among his NFL stars who are products of their system, though his reasoning for that is that Matthews has greatly benefited from a scheme which funnels playmaking opportunities his way.

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