USC Football Recruiting: Dee Liner is Committed to Auburn, But Will Visit USC

Dee Liner is a four star recruit out of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the fourth ranked interior defensive lineman according to Rivals and the 36th ranked recruit in the FanSided 150. The soon-to-be high school senior committed to Auburn last June, but hasn’t been shy about visiting other schools. According to Laura McKeeman of Scout, he’ll make an official visit to USC, and is being recruited by USC’s Tee Martin.

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Liner visited Alabama’s spring game in April, in what was an obvious faux pas for any Auburn commit. It was such a taboo in fact that he ended up speaking on the matter, saying that he was, “100 percent with Auburn, no matter what.” That quote surfaced on April 18, and Liner had Tee Martin in his house yesterday, which can’t bode well for Gene Chizik’s Tigers.

Martin, USC’s new wide receivers coach, had connections with Liner back at Kentucky, as the Wildcats have been in the hunt for his services and are one of eight schools who have offer scholarships. Of those eight, only USC is not in SEC and it makes you wonder just how vital Tee Martin can be as a recruiter, if he’s going to be able to use his southern connections to make runs at recruits in SEC country. When we interviewed Martin back in March, he spoke about his transition from the south to Los Angeles, but the more his recruiting prowess plays out in the south, the more of a solid hire it becomes for Lane Kiffin, as having a recruiter semi-based in the south is huge for a school located thousands of miles away in California.

As for Liner, he’s 6-foot 4, 260 pounds, and has plenty of speed on the interior line, making him a fit to play the three technique at USC. Liner’s build is very similar to George Uko, whom we profiled back in March, and his skill set is the same ballpark, as the only knock on Liner is his strength. Considering the weight training regimen that college athletes endure now at the NCAA level, strength isn’t the worst knock on a player by any means, as it oftentimes is an acquired trait at the college level.

Should Liner stay committed to Auburn, he’ll boost a solid Class of 2013 recruiting class along the defensive line, as the Tigers also have a committment from Carl Lawson, the eighth best defensive end in the country. If Liner lands in Los Angeles at USC, he’ll join Kenny Bigelow and Kylie Fitts as defensive lineman in USC’s Class of 2013.