Tyler Petite Commits to USC, Flips from Duke

With the holiday recruiting dead period looming, USC has gotten one of their biggest victories of the class this afternoon at a position of need. Tyler Petite, a four-star tight end from Moraga, Calif. has flipped from Duke and committed to the Trojans.

Petite announced the move on Twitter, citing that the decision has been made with the intentions of what is best for him as a football player.

Back in July, Petite committed to the Blue Devils over USC, a shock to many at the time, strictly because of how far along Duke has come under head coach David Cutcliffe. So much so that Cutcliffe turned down the Michigan job earlier this week in hopes of sticking around in Durham.

Petite however, won’t be sticking around now that he’s flipped to the Trojans. And quite frankly, the 6-foot-5, 225 pound tight end is a big get for USC.

The coaching staff maintained their contact with Petite throughout his commitment to Duke and tight ends coach Marques Tuiasosopo has been said to have had a big impact, per Gerard Martinez of Scout. He needed to, given the depth issues that the Trojans have had at tight end.

USC is going to be without Randall Telfer who is graduating, and have played parts of this season with only one scholarship tight end. Junior Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick missed the season due to academic ineligibility and freshman Bryce Dixon missed time due to an academic conduct issue.

Petite should slot in with a chance to perform immediately, as he’s the only tight end committed to the 2015 class thus far.

Former Michigan commitment Chris Clark has entertained thoughts of going to USC of late and it’ll be unclear if Petite’s commitment affects his recruitment. Clark announced on Twitter earlier this week that he would be going silent until late January when he makes a decision.

Currently, USC has 17 commitments to the Class of 2015 and has seven remaining scholarships. Signing Day is less than two months away, on February 4th.