Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday Evening, DE Kylie Fitts announced his intention to sign with the UCLA Bruins on National Signing Day, following through with his plan to enroll in college early.

Fitts had previously been a long-time commit to USC and was all set to become a Trojan when the spring semester started in January, when an unfortunate series of events caused him to hastily de-commit. The coaching staff asked him to defer his enrollment to the fall to make room for another athlete to enroll early, and Fitts, who had always dreamed of going to USC, was devastated. He kept the Trojans in consideration after de-committing, but it was no secret he would look into enrolling early somewhere else.

Queue UCLA in the mix.

With USC and Notre Dame being semester schools, the possibility of enrolling early ceased to exist in January. UCLA on the other hand is on the quarter system and starting now is still on the table there. That being the case, the Bruins’ program was the only one he could join early, and so he will get to participate in spring ball this year like he planned.

There was an inkling of hope that the Trojans would land Fitts in spite of what transpired because he took a final unofficial visit to Troy over the weekend, but it seems the snub was too much for him to look past.

The four-star defensive end has elected to become a Bruin, and will sign with them on Wednesday.

Fitts was one of eight players to de-commit from USC, and one of five to do so within a month of National Signing Day. In August, USC toted the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation; now, they stand at about 13th.

Fitts had been committed to the Trojans for nearly eight months and was out shopping for supplies for his new college dorm room when he got the call that there was no more room for him as an early enrollee. Kiffin and staff asked Fitts to simply wait until the Fall to enroll at Troy, but the defensive end really wants to get college started early, and so he reopened his recruitment to look into doing so elsewhere.

Because Kiffin was at the helm of the decision it was conveyed as malicious, but really the Fitts fiasco is a casualty of USC’s scholarship ban, where the Trojans are forced to make tough decisions in the interest of trying to immediately fill positions of need.

Fitts, a longtime Trojan fan, was obviously devastated and hurt but he never took the Trojans out of consideration. On Sunday, Kiffin and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron made one final push for him before this week’s no-contact period.

The Redlands, CA native will announce where he intends to play his college ball at 7 a.m. PT, with USC, UCLA and Notre Dame being the favorites. If he still wants to enroll early then it’s likely he will choose UCLA, because its quarter system renders it the only school where he could still do so. He recently attended the USC/UCLA basketball game last week wearing blue, but later he also tweeted support for Trojan players as well.

If Fitts does sign with the Trojans, his presence will further bolster USC’s already star-studded class come National Signing Day.

Just two days from now, it’ll all be coming to an end, as Lane Kiffin’s Class of 2013 will finally be finalized on Wednesday’s National Signing Day. While Kiffin and company await the faxes, we’ve compiled the times as to when you should keep your eyes open to Twitter, TV or the internet. Here’s the schedule, so plan your trips to the break room accordingly.

7:00 pm (Tues.) – Kylie Fitts

The most notable de-commitment in USC’s class, Fitts is still considering the Trojans, along with UCLA and Notre Dame. Lane Kiffin opted to defer his scholarship in favor of Leon McQuay III as a citing of Fitts’ long-time admirable for USC football being strong enough to accept a parlay, but it might not pay off in the end. Fitts has raved about his trips to UCLA and wore blue to the USC-UCLA basketball game this past week. For the Trojans, the hope is that his unofficial visit to USC on Sunday afternoon –the last visit of any sort for Fitts– was enough for Kiffin to best Jim Mora.

6:15 am – Matthew Thomas

The Miami linebacker is considering his hometown Canes, in addition to Florida State, USC and Alabama. He appears to be favoring his in-state schools, though his official to USC on January 18th was reported to be a success.

8:00am – Jalen Ramsey

Ramsey has been committed to the Trojans since July, though for months, USC has been fighting off teams chomping at the bit for his services, including the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles. The current vibe sees it as an FSU/USC split, though he’ll be signing his letter of intent alongside high school teammate and future Gator Max Staver.

8:20 am – Torrodney Prevot

Big news over the weekend was that Notre Dame was dropped by Prevot, meaning it will come down to USC and Texas A&M. Prevot has been committed to USC since the summer but has been to College Station multiple times. The Aggies have 32 commitments but only two are at defensive end, while the Trojans have just one, and that’s Jason Hatcher.

9:15 am – Quinton Powell on ESPNU

Florida is no longer in the running for Powell, as the four-star linebacker tweeted on Saturday that his final four is USC, Oregon, Miami and South Carolina. Unlike Thomas, Powell seems to be a heavy lean towards the Trojans, which would give USC two four-star linebackers in Powell and Michael Hutchings.

12:30 pm – A’Shawn Robinson

The Trojans were just put out of the running over the weekend, as Robinson de-committed from Texas. He’s technically not publicly committed to Alabama, but with Texas and USC seemingly out of the picture, it’s almost a certainty he’ll put on a Crimson Tide cap on Wednesday, according to reports.

5:00 pm – Eddie Vanderdoes on MaxPreps.com

Depending who you believe, Vanderdoes is a lock to go to USC, UCLA, Notre Dame or Alabama, though he’s still considering Tosh Lupoi’s Huskies up in Seattle. Vanderdoes visited Alabama this past weekend and raved about it on Twitter, a sentiment he had last week after a trip to Notre Dame. Sources close to Vanderdoes indicate that academics and a family feel is the deciding factor, though many analysts have tabbed location as the be-all and end-all for Vanderdoes, giving him a UCLA lean. Either way, going into his presser, it appears that there isn’t an overwhelming favorite.

NOTE: All times are Pacific.