If you’ve followed the Jason Hatcher recruitment from the start, you probably have enough to write a Hollywood script. The four-star Louisville, KY defensive end chose USC back in July, only to de-commit just days after his official visit in January.

Florida and Louisville were in play, in addition to Mark Stoops’s Kentucky Wildcats. A Florida visit was cancelled and Louisville was moved up then dropped after speculation that Clint Hurtt had ties to the Miami improper benefits scandal.

The result was the almighty re-commitment last week.

But, don’t count your eggs before they hatch, if you excuse the pun. Yesterday, 247Sports analyst J.C. Shurburtt proclaimed Hatcher to still be in play:

So Jason Hatcher is still in play….interesting. #SigningDay

— JC Shurburtt (@jcshurburtt) February 4, 2013

If he’s going to land anywhere but Troy, it’s likely going to be Kentucky, as pointed out by pundit Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio.

Hatcher has been to Lexington twice recently and a source close to Hatcher and Trinity High School has maintained that the link between the two is strong.

Does that mean that Hatcher to the Wildcats is a done deal? Who knows at this point.

Last week, Hatcher’s mother was adamant that he was headed to SC. Either way, the way Hatcher’s commitment has gone, don’t be surprised if things shift dramatically, as it’s likely to get cloudier before it clears up.

Hatcher’s Signing Day ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. in Louisville, noon Pacific.

UPDATE: JASON HATCHER HAS DE-COMMITTED.

In The Clubhouse (13 commitments)

Who’s Enrolled?

• Kenny Bigelow — DT — Elkton, MD (East Christian)
• Max Browne — QB — Sammamish, WA (Sammamish)
• Su’a Cravens — S — Vista Murrieta, CA (Vista Murrieta)
• Justin Davis — RB– Stockton, CA (Lincoln)
• Chris Hawkins –CB– Rancho Cucamonga, CA (Rancho Cucamonga)
• Leon McQuay III –S– Tampa Bay, FL (Armwood)

Who’s Committed?

• Nico Falah — OL — Bellflower, CA (St. John Bosco)
• Jason Hatcher — DE — Louisville, KY (Trinity)
• Michael Hutchings — LB — Concord, CA (De La Salle)
• Ty Isaac — RB — Joliet, IL (Joliet Catholic)
• Steven Mitchell — WR — Mission Hills, CA (Bishop Alemany)
• Torrodney Prevot — DE — Houston, TX (Alief Taylor)
• Jalen Ramsey — DB — Nashville, TN (Brentwood Academy)
• Khaliel Rodgers — OL — Elkton, MD (Eastern Christian Academy)

The Battleground (4 open scholarships)

Who’s Likely?

• Quinton Powell — LB — Daytona Beach, FL (Mainland) – Powell visited USC on January 18th and shut down his recruiting. He visited Florida back in December and will make his decision live during ESPN’s National Signing Day coverage.
• Eddie Vanderdoes — DL — Placer, CA (Placer) - Vanderdoes will make his decision live on MaxPreps.com at 5 p.m. Pacific time on Signing Day. He visited USC back on January 18th, followed by his two final trips to Notre Dame and Alabama.

Who’s a Longshot?

• Kylie Fitts — DE — Redlands, CA (East Valley) - Fitts de-committed in early January when USC decided to defer his scholarship to the fall, as opposed to being an early enrollee. Since then, Fitts has visited UCLA, Notre Dame and Utah.
• A’Shawn Robinson — DT — Fort Worth, TX (Arlington Heights) -  Robinson visited USC in December along with the Fitts and other early enrollees, spurning a Texas banquet in the process. He visited Austin on January 26th and has made it clear that he’s committed to Texas.
• Matt Thomas — LB — Miami, FL (Booker T. Washington) –   Thomas came to Los Angeles to visit USC on January 18th and is considered to be a strong Miami lean after his Florida State recruiter, James Coley, took the offensive coordinator role at Miami.

Three Storylines to Watch:

1 . Can Lane Kiffin close strong? The Trojans’ recruiting class had as many as 18 commitments back in the summer, which was one over the limit of 17. But since then, six have de-committed, including Jason Hatcher, who re-committed earlier this week. Kiffin and the Trojans have been saddled with a narrative tied to USC’s 7-6 record and Sun Bowl loss, but if they can close by signing Eddie Vanderdoes or Kylie Fitts, they’ll go a long way towards repairing that image.

2.  Just where will the average-star rating finish? Despite being saddled with sanctions that limit USC’s class to 15 scholarships(plus two carryover initials for early enrollees), the Trojans don’t have a single commitment from a three-star player. Dating back to 2002, USC has topped out with an average-star rating of 4.22 in 2007 and 4.20 in 2010, a record they will seemingly shatter in 2013, as they stand at 4.43. Should USC add three five-stars on Signing Day without losing a commit (Vanderdoes, Thomas and Robinson) they would max out at a Rivals rating of 4.53, in addition to setting a record with nine five-star commits. That seems to be a longshot, but that’s quite the ceiling for a 7-6 team in the middle of sanctions. Click here for more on USC’s star rating.

3. Can USC keep Ramsey and Prevot on board? Five-star corner Jalen Ramsey has been tied to the Florida Gators for months and rumors and pundits see him landing either in Gainesville or Tallahassee, with the rival Florida State Seminoles, including Mike Farrell of Rivals. For Prevot, multiple visits to College Station to visit Texas A&M may be concerning for the Trojans, even if the Aggies have 92 players committed to their class. Well, not quite 92. UPDATE: Ramsey de-committed late Monday night.

USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES

A week after de-committing from USC, four-star defensive end Jason Hatcher is back on the wagon a member of the Trojans’ Class of 2013. According to Gerard Martinez of  USCFootball.com, the Louisville, KY native had an in-home visit with USC coaches Lane Kiffin, Clancy Pendergast, Tee Martin and Ed Orgeron. Tonight, Hatcher is listed as a committed recruit on Rivals’ full manifest of USC commitments.

Last Tuesday, Hatcher tweeted that his recruitment was wide open following his de-commitment from USC, though as seen in a screenshot that we took on Tuesday afternoon, he immediately tweeted back to a fan saying that he was committed to USC. His tweet proclaiming his de-commitment has been deleted.

Steve Jones of the Louisville Courier-Journal tweeted that same afternoon that Hatcher would visit his hometown Louisville Cardinals, the same time he was initially set to officially visit the Florida Gators. High school teammate James Quick of Trinity High is committed to Charlie Strong’s Cardinals.

Hatcher visited USC two weekends ago along with a slew of other Trojan commits and targets, and is the 7th ranked defensive end per Rivals, as well as ranked 221 in their final Rivals 250 rankings, which were released a week ago.

With Hatcher back in for the Trojans, the recruiting class stands at 14 commits, leaving three open spots remaining for Kiffin before Signing Day on February 6. USC’s current targets include Quinton Powell, Matthew Thomas, A’Shawn Robinson, Eddie Vanderdoes and Kylie Fitts.