Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The recruiting of Michael Hutchings has gone to plan, as Lane Kiffin’s Trojans signed its second player on National Signing Day in Hutchings.

Early Wednesday Morning, Hutchings changed his Twitter background to a USC logo, and tweeted his joy to join the program:

Glad to be able to say I am OFFICIALLY A USC TROJAN! Ready to start the journey. Thank you to my family friends and coaches.

— Michael Hutchings (@CaliHutch_17) February 6, 2013

Hutchings, a Concord, CA native had been committed to the Trojans since last summer, and was one of the few players in this class whose commitment never really wavered. Not only that, but Hutchings also was instrumental from the beginning in turning other players on to the Trojans, acting a player/recruiter at Nike’s The Opening as well as on USC’s mass official visit they hosted in January. Aside from Su’a Cravens, he has been one of the pillars of this recruiting class.

With his Letter of Intent faxed in, the Trojans have two linebackers signed to the Class of 2013.

The six-foot-tow, 210-pound, five-star linebacker will join the Trojan linebacker corps, and back up Hayes Pullard and Dion Bailey, USC’s starting outside linebackers that have flourished as smaller, more agile backers.

USC’s new defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast brings in a 3-4 defense that will likely see Hutchings play at outside linebacker, defending both the pass and the run, using his experience as a safety at De La Salle. Expect Hutchings to compliment and compete with Jabari Ruffin as the future outside linebackers of USC.

Hutchings had a stand out high school career, being apart of four consecutive state titles with De La Salle, and seeing his senior squad go undefeated in 2012.

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.

Jan 5, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; East running back Derrick Henry (2) is tackled by West linebacker Michael Hutchings (17) during U.S. Army All-American Bowl high school football game at the Alamodome. The East won 15-8. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

As they prepare for the biggest day of their athletic careers yet when they officially pledge to spend their college years at USC, four Trojan commits have received one last accolade from high school to look back on fondly: WR Steven Mitchell, OL Nico Falah, LB Michael Hutchings, and S Su’a Cravens have all been selected to the 2012 Cal-Hi Sports All-State First Team.

CalHiSports.com annually selects 30 California high school football players to its All-State First Team, and has done so for the past 34 years. The designation is earned without regard to school size or the grade of the athletes in question, which means juniors and lowerclassmen can make it. In addition to the accolade, all first-team overall all-state honorees will receive a special mention in the California high school football record book.

For this quartet of future Trojans, this honor serves as the final seal of approval on their stand-out high school careers.

In his senior year at Alemany (Mission Hills), Mitchell led the team with 62 catches for 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also rushed for 202 yards and scored an additional five times on the ground. This 5-foot-10, 180-pound slot receiver heads to Troy, looking to add himself to the Marqise Lee/Nelson Agholor wide receiver rotation.

Out of St. John Bosco (Bellflower), Falah and his Braves had a Cinderella season, winning the Trinity League title and remaining unbeaten until falling in a heart-breaker to Long Beach Poly in the CIFSS Pac-Five Division semifinals. Falah was previously named the Co-Offensive Player of the Year in his league, in addition to having received All-CIFSS Pac-Five and All-L.A. Times honors. The six-foot-five, 285-pound offensive lineman plans to bring his physical blocking style to the Trojan offensive line, which is greatly in need of a commanding presence.

Hutchings may have had the best senior year of all on the All-State list, as he saw his De La Salle (Concord) Spartans go undefeated, win a fourth consecutive title and end the season as the No. 1 team in the state, and he personally earned the designation of Mr. Football State Player of the Year. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound linebacker finished the year with 113 tackles, 3.5 sacks and three interceptions and even got some points on the board when he scored off a 99-yard kick return. Look for him to be a crucial member of the Trojan linebacking corps in the coming seasons.

Cravens (Murrieta) has already enrolled at USC and is getting his college career underway, and if it is anything like his high school one, the Trojan secondary will be in good shape. One of the pillars of USC’s 2013 recruiting class, this top-ranked safety finished his senior season as a nominee for Mr. Football consideration for a second year in a row, while being named the Gatorade Player of the Year. He rushed for six touchdowns and caught eight touchdown passes on offense, and on the other side of the ball, he recorded 95 tackles with five sacks and three picks. This 6-foot-3, 210-pound safety is already gearing up to replace T.J. McDonald and be the next big safety in Troy.

In addition to these four, former Trojan commits DL Eddie Vanderdoes and DB Max Redfield were also named to the Cal-Hi Sports All-State First Team. Redfield is heading to Notre Dame come National Signing Day, but Vanderdoes’ decision is still up in the air. The Trojans are still in the race, but Notre Dame and Alabama are jockeying for his attention as well, in addition the Pac-12 rivals UCLA and Washington. With an official visit still scheduled to Alabama this coming weekend, Vanderdoes will announce his decision on Feb. 6th, at 5 p.m. PST.