The USC Trojans have signed one of their biggest recruiting gurus, offensive lineman Khaliel Rodgers.

Rodgers, a teammate of Kenny Bigelow at Eastern Christian Academy in Elkton, MD., has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Trojans’ recruiting efforts on Twitter since committing on July 11th, the same day as Nico Falah and Eddie Vanderdoes.

Before committing to USC, Rodgers was considered to be an Auburn lean due to the fact that Lane Kiffin and company had not offered him a scholarship. After getting offered, Rodgers and Bigelow quickly became a package deal, with the offensive lineman committing immediately following the offer.

Though Eastern Christian Academy’s season was cut short due to administration reasons restricting athletic activity, Rodgers made the Army All-American Game and was one of the most impressive lineman in the game, which included several key blocks on a fourth quarter drive that gave the East the lead.

At USC, Rodgers is expected to slide inside and play center, a position that could use depth after the departure of All-Pac-12 center Khaled Holmes. Going into spring camp, guard-turned-center Marcus Martin and Cyrus Hobbi will compete for first-team reps.

For more National Signing Day coverage, visit SaturdayBlitz.com.

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.

• Jalen Ramsey had an in-home visit on Monday night from wide receivers coach Tee Martin, who is the head recruiter for the Tennessee and Kentucky region, in addition other areas within SEC country. Ramsey visited Coliseum on Saturday for the Notre Dame game and took in the Vista Murrieta vs. Rancho Cucamonga high school game on Friday to support fellow defensive back commits Su’a Cravens and Chris Hawkins.
• Next up for Tee Martin is defense end commit Jason Hatcher from Louisville, Kentucky. Martin’s visit with Hatcher is scheduled for today.
• Ty Isaac had a visit from USC’s special teams coordinator John Baxter on Monday night and it ‘went well’ according to ESPN’s Blair Angulo.
• Eldridge Massington had a visit on Tuesday and judging by his tweets here, here and here, the visit appears to have been a success for Massington and the Trojans.
• Michael Hutchings will host USC quarterbacks coach Clay Helton tonight for an in-home visit up north in Concord, while Helton caught up with running back Justin Davis on Monday in Stockton.
• Eddie Vanderdoes will also get a visit from Helton, with his being on Thursday. Defensive line coach Ed Orgeron is also scheduled to visit the Placer defensive tackle, as he is set to stop by next week. Vanderdoes visited UCLA for the Stanford game on Saturday although according to Angulo, he will only open his recruitment if Orgeron were to leave USC.
• This week, Orgeron is heading to the east coast where he will have in-home visits with USC commits and East Christian Academy teammates Kenny Bigelow and Khaliel Rodgers on Thursday.
• On Tuesday, linebacker Trey Johnson was the first recruit to get an Orgeron visit this week, and it came on the same day he decommitted from Auburn.
• Montravius Adams appears to be the Trojans’ biggest current target, despite the class being fully maxed out with 17 commitments for the time being. Orgeron will visit Adams today at his home in Vienna, Georgia, and also has a visit scheduled this week with top Auburn commit Carl Lawson, who resides in Alpharetta, just north of Atlanta.