USC’s 2011 National Signing Day

Lane Kiffin and his staff are enjoying a productive National Signing Day as the Trojans have moved from 5th to 2nd on Scout.com’s recruiting rankings. Part of the reason USC ranks so high is that they got the most commitments from ESPNU top 150 prospects. Several uncommitted prospects have chosen USC and bolstered their standing. Most notably, the Trojans stole defensive tackle Christian Heyward away from San Diego State and convinced lineman Aundrey Walker to spurn his native Ohio State for USC.

Another interesting development is that juco defensive back Isiah Wiley did not qualify to enroll in the spring and will count towards the 2011 class.

Unfortunately, USC has lost some recruiting battles. 3-star linebacker Kent Turene, who de-committed over the weekend, chose Georgia over USC. He cited the fact that Georgia was home. In other news, offensive lineman Troy Niklas chose Notre Dame over USC and will be headed to South Bend. The largest news on the recruiting front regards 5-star athlete De’Anthony Thomas. Shelley Smith of ESPN is reporting that the highly-touted prospect will jump ship and sign with Oregon. He is expected to announce his decision at Crenshaw High at 6 p.m. (PDT). The Trojans are guaranteed to have a very productive recruiting class, but the addition of Thomas would add to its aura.

USC has announced they have received a letter of intent from the following prospects:

5-stars

WR George Farmer     6’2″, 192     Gardena, CA (Junipero Serra)

4-stars

DT Antwaun Woods    6’1″, 322    Woodland Hills, CA (Taft)

WR Marqise Lee     6’0″, 190     Inglewood, CA (Serra)

TE Junior Pomee     6’3″,235        Perris, CA (Rancho Verde)

OG Cyrus Hobbi        6’3″, 285      Scottsdale, AZ (Saguro)

DT Christian Heyward     6’2″, 269      San Diego, CA (Point Loma)

OG Aundrey Walker     6’5,355    Cleveland, OH (Glenville Academic Campus)

LB Lamar Dawson     6’2, 230    Danville, KY (Boyle County)

LB Anthony Sarao    6’1″, 215   Absecon, NJ (Holy Spirit)

DE Greg Townsend, Jr.    6’4″, 242   Beverly Hills, CA (Beverly Hills)

LB Tre Madden     6’1, 215   Mission Viejo, CA (Mission Viejo)

RB Amir Carlisle    5’10″, 181   Sunnyvale, CA (The Kings’ Academy)

WR Victor Blackwell    6’1″, 186     Santa Ana, CA (Mater Dei)

3-stars

OL Marcus Martin      6’3″, 340    Los Angeles, CA (Crenshaw)

DE Devante Wilson    6’4″, 230    Corona, CA (Corona)

OL Cody Temple          6’3″, 280    Bakersfield, CA (Liberty)

DL J.R. Tavai           6’2″, 260     Redondo Beach, CA (Mira Costa)

LB Charles Burks      6’1″, 230      Huntington Beach, CA (Edison)

ATH Javorious Allen    6’1″, 210       Tallahassee, FL (Lincoln)

DE Steve Dillon         6’3″, 245       Palmdale, CA (Palmdale)

RB Javorious Allen    6’1″, 210      Tallahassee, FL (Lincoln)

DB Ryan Henderson      5’10”,170      Moreno Valley, CA (Rancho Verde)

2-stars

K Kris Albarado    6’0″, 180     Lake Charles, LA  (St. Louis)

Junior College

DB Isiah Wiley  6’1″, 185    Yuma, AZ   (Arizona Western C.C)