USC Football Recruiting: D-Line No Longer Concern With Tuli Letuligasenoa Verbal

USC football’s concerns on the defensive line are becoming a thing of the past with recent recruiting victories like a verbal commitment from Tuli Letuligasenoa.

It doesn’t seem so long ago that those who followed USC football fretted about a lack of quality depth on the defensive line. Those concerns now seem to be a thing of the past.

Thanks to the immense contribution of transfer Stevie Tu’ikolovatu in 2016, who bridged a serious dearth of available talent last year along the defensive line, the Trojans were somehow able to not only get through but excel on their way to a 10-3 season.

Now with Tu’iklolvatu gone, head coach Clay Helton and his staff went out and secured the signatures of three outstanding 2017 defensive tackle recruits in Marlon Tuipolotu—who has been an absolute beast in the spring session—to go along with four-star Jay Tufele and the under-rated Brandon Pili.

This year, those three will join Kenny Bigelow (assuming he returns at full strength from a knee injury), Josh Fatu, Malik Dorton, Liam Jimmons and Jacob Daniel to form a potentially dominating position group in 2017.

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All of a sudden, a unit that seemed problematic is now a strength both now and in the future.

Speaking of the future, it got even brighter with the verbal to USC of four-star defensive tackle, Tuli Letuligasenoa—a massive prospect out of powerhouse Concord De La Salle.

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Letuligasenoa, a 6-foot-2, 295-pound behemoth whose strength is only matched by his incredible agility gave USC his verbal over Washington and UCLA and Trojan fans should celebrate this commitment.

Not only does Letuligasenoa’s verbal firm up the defensive line in 2018 and beyond, it opens up another pipeline to De La Salle, a perennial power who last sent a player to USC in 2013—that being linebacker Michael Hutchings, who just graduated after a distinguished senior season as a starter.

The Trojans also have another iron in the fire at the position with four-star tackle Tommy Togiai—another player who is listed as “warm” in his interest in USC by 247Sports.com.

All of which should bring a smile to those who follow the men of Troy, especially after so much concern was given to this position in the recent past.

Problems with the defensive line? Not anymore.