Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

In yet another twist in the 2013 recruiting class, word has come out that Eddie Vanderdoes might not end up playing for Notre Dame, as reported by the Sacramento Bee’s Joe Davidson.

Vanderdoes signed with the Irish on Signing Day, but according to Davidson, Note Dame’s listing of Vanderdoes on their media release of signees before his announcement didn’t go over well with the Vanderdoes family, and could be a source of frustration. Though, as Davidson is quick to point out, “[internet] speculation about Vanderdoes ranged from character concerns to an academic fall out”, which both the family and coaches close to the defensive lineman deny.

As of now, Vanderdoes’s future is up in the air, and the college football world will have to wait and see how it all plays out, which basically repeats the month of January.

The initial thought is that a Vanderdoes release would play right into the hand of Jim Mora and UCLA. The Bruins were runners-up for Vanderdoes, along with USC and Alabama, and injury concerns have mounted tremendously on defense in Westwood. Defensive end Datone Jones is now playing with the Green Bay Packers, and Owamagbe Odighizuwa has struggled with injuries this offseason, with conflicting reports about the severity.

Last week, the LA Times reported that the junior had a season-ending hip injury. Today, CBS Sports is reporting that Mora says the injury isn’t that serious. Whether or not Odighizuwa is 100 percent healthy or not come August, the Bruins still have a need on the defensive line and Vanderdoes’s past interest in UCLA may link them to the Auburn, Calif. native.

However, the Vanderdoes case isn’t strictly confined to UCLA being an obvious suitor if Notre Dame isn’t the landing spot. The Trojans were very much in the mix going into February, and when it was last discussed, the relationship between he and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron was good.

Yet, regardless of any degree of interest Vanderdoes has in USC, the Trojans will have a horse in the race, given the similarities to the ongoing drama with the Matthew Thomas story.

Thomas, a fellow five-star recruit, wants to play at USC or Georgia and is seeking a release from Florida State, who have held firm that they won’t release him in hopes of avoiding what they consider to be the setting of a precedence and the opening of Pandora’s box.

But if Vanderdoes officially looks for a release from Notre Dame, could the Irish beat Jimbo Fisher to the punch by granting it? Should Vanderdoes get released, Florida State’s hands could be severely tied with Thomas, perhaps coaxing them to release him.

It’s still far too early to see how any of this plays out, but could we actually be looking at an absolutely bizarre scenario in which USC could somehow benefit from Notre Dame allowing a player to walk and go to UCLA?

Freeman, who stands in a 6-feet-tall and 210 pounds, is the 28th back in the nation per rivals, and now holds scholarship offers from ten Pac-12 schools, with Utah and Washington State being the only holdouts. Other national offers include powers Florida, Florida State and Tennessee, making Freeman one of the most sought after backs in the country.

How’s the offer rank for Freeman? Well, here’s tweets from Gerard Martinez of Rivals and Greg Biggins of Scout.

Imperial running back Royce Freeman offered a scholarship by #USC Wednesday. Freeman had assistant coach Mike Summers visit him last week.

— Gerard Martinez (@gmartlive) May 15, 2013

Freeman does not have an official list of favorites, but in my view, #USC now goes head to head with #Oregon for his interest right now.

— Gerard Martinez (@gmartlive) May 15, 2013

#USC has offered Imperial (Calif.) RB Royce Freeman, “this is a big one,” he said.

— Greg Biggins (@GregBiggins) May 15, 2013

USC’s class of 2014 currently stands at five commitments, all of them linemen. At this time last year, the Trojans were just starting to get skill players locked into the class, with early commitments from Steven Mitchell and Su’a Cravens.

Dr. Dre | JASON PERSSE (Creative Commons via Flikr)

The rich get richer as today USC will formally announce a $70 million donation from music mogul Jimmy Iovine and award-winning rapper Dr. Dre to create the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts. But other than giving the school access to high-priced headphones and even more industry connections, the academy’s impact on football and basketball recruiting will be an interesting subplot to watch unfold in the coming years.

While the initial intake of students for the academy will be just 25 in the fall of 2014 –which all but eliminates the notion of frivolous majoring practices– the Trojans have had a recent history with musicians that has to make one think that the academy could be another ploy for Lane Kiffin and Andy Enfield to play up, if needed.

Within the last calendar year, USC has been the landing spot for two athletes with music industry aspirations, Tennessee basketball transfer Renaldo Woolridge and five-star safety Leon McQuay III.

The pair, who go by stage names SB Babyy and LM3 Beats, have been featured on big outlets as student athletes. Woolridge’s ‘Fight On (We Play to Rise)’ became the musical theme of USC’s 2012-13 athletics year, and McQuay produced a song by Infinite Skillz that was used heavily in the promotion of the Under Armour All-American Game on ESPN.

For McQuay specifically, who enrolled at USC in January, academics played an enormous role in his recruitment. While on a recruiting trip in December, McQuay got to show his music to faculty within USC’s Thornton School of Music, with a video of his portfolio review hitting YouTube three weeks before officially enrolling at USC.

Without saying, the opportunities at USC to study and produce music with industry connections while playing football at a major program was the ultimate reason he decided to make the 3,000 mile from Tampa to Los Angeles, rather than going to Vanderbilt, whom McQuay also considered. And that was five months before Dr. Dre and Iovine even entered the mix.

Now, players like Woolridge and McQuay are among a select few athletes that try to excel in music and sports simultaneously. McQuay, as a five-star safety and record producer, is even a rarer commodity.

That said, the academy is immediate name recognition for recruits who have grown up listening to Dr. Dre on their iPods. In a recruiting world where uniforms and spring games at NFL venues have more stock in recruiting decisions than they should, the opportunity to study at a school named after a world famous rapper probably won’t fall on deaf ears of recruits that have a legitimate interest in the music industry.

Plus, it comes at a remarkable time for recruiting in Southern California, with multiple sons of rappers having emerged as recruiting targets at USC, including Snoop Dogg’s son Cordell Broadus and the son of the late Nate Dogg, Naijiel Hale. Even UCLA has Justin Combs, the son of P. Diddy.

Expecting Broadus and Hale to go to USC solely because of Dr. Dre is silly, but recruiting is hands down the silliest aspect of American sports, and Kiffin isn’t doing his job if he doesn’t at least once mention that Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Dr. Dre have all worked together. Multiple times.

“OK, Cordell, let’s Lay Low. Here’s the playbook. It’s like this and like that and like this and uh, it’s like that and like this and like that and uh.”