USC Football News: CJ Pollard Has Trojans in Top 5

Four-star defensive back CJ Pollard has long been considered a favorite to sign with USC on Signing Day, given that he goes to Serra High School and is the son of former Trojan defensive back Marvin Pollard.

So it’s only fitting that Steve Sarkisian’s program have made Pollard’s top five, along with Pac-12 rivals ASU, Utah and Oregon, per Gerard Martinez of USCFootball.com.

Michigan rounds out the Top 5 as new head coach Jim Harbaugh continues to try and form a grassroots recruiting movement in Southern California.

Should Pollard commit to the Trojans at The Opening, it would mark the second straight time that USC picked up a versatile California defensive back at Nike’s summer showcase. Isiah Langley pledged to USC last year, live on ESPNU.

The Trojans could use plenty of depth in the secondary, particularly at safety. Going into the 2015 season, USC has just four scholarship safeties on the roster, with Leon McQuay III draft-eligible in 2016, and John Plattenburg being a junior next year.

READ MORE: Five needs USC must address in the 2016 class

Pollard can play both defensive back positions and would fit into Justin Wilcox’s defense, which has been shown to rely on having both safeties drop into pass coverage, requiring better ball skills at safety than USC defenses of the past.

Pollard is the 312th ranked player in the 247Sports Composite, as well as the 15th best safety.

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