USC had been in the mix for Oluwole Betiku almost by default, given the Serra High School connection. But on Friday night, the four-star defensive lineman released a list of his top six schools with the Trojans no where to be seen.
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Making the cut were the Trojans’ rivals UCLA, along with Penn State, Florida, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Florida State.
It’s quite a national list, despite the inclusion of UCLA. Part of that is due to the connections that Betiku has been able to make.
The former basketball player has been brought under the wing of former Butkus Award winner and NFL linebacker Lavar Arrington, which has put Penn State right in the thick of things.
Though, as ironic as it may seem, Arrington played at PSU when Tom Bradley –UCLA’s current defensive coordinator– was the Nittany Lions defensive backs coach.
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Not being in the mix at the moment is a ding for the Trojans, though Steve Sarkisian’s staff was at least able to recruit defensive linemen extensively in the 2015 class, including Betiku’s Serra teammate Rasheem Green.
USC is currently without a defensive line commitment in the 2016 class, after top target Jordan Elliott committed to Houston last week.
It’s still early and the Trojans have time to get back in it with both Betiku and Elliott, but it’ll be interesting to see how much emphasis Justin Wilcox, Chris Wilson and company put on defensive linemen going forward.
The Trojans will lose a host of squadmen after this season, with Antwaun Woods, Delvon Simmons, Claude Pelon, Greg Townsend and Cody Temple all being seniors.
Betiku is currently ranked as the 52nd best recruit in the 247Sports Composite, and fifth among defensive ends.
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