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USC Football Recruiting Picks Up With Saleapaga, Jimmons

By Hank Shaw

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After a bit of a lull, USC football recruiting gained some steam this past weekend with a pair of diamond-in-the-rough type defensive line commitments, Liam Jimmons and Keanu Saleapaga.

RELATED: 5 Positions USC Must Address in the 2016 Recruiting Class

Both are under the radar three-star recruits hailing in or near Orange County, who grew up dreaming of suiting for the Trojans. As of now, it appears as though those ambitions are looking to come true following their commitments.

What’s it mean for the recruiting class as a whole?

For starters, Jimmons and Saleapaga were much needed gets for USC predominantly due to their positioning on the defensive line.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

While the Trojans hit the line hard in the 2015 class, signing five defensive lineman including five-star Rasheem Green, USC is set to graduate five seniors including a trio of starters: Antwaun Woods, Delvon Simmons and Claude Pelon.

That puts an incredible amount of pressure on both the 2015 and 2016 class, as the Trojans exit sanctions with the ability to stock pile depth at positions of need.

It has also enabled the Trojans to take some fliers on players that project to require a bit of development, as seen with Kevin Scott in the 2015 class, who just recently converted to football from basketball.

Both Jimmons and Saleapaga fall into that category, as recruits with big, raw frames that could take a year or two in the system to bulk up and adapt to the collegiate level. The former is 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, while the latter is 6-foot-5, 270 pounds.

SEE ALSO: New USC commit Liam Jimmons is a rugby star

All in all, the Trojans still have 12 scholarships left in the 2016 recruiting class and will likely still look to pick up another body or two on the defensive line. Ideally, Steve Sarkisian’s staff will presumably like to secure a commitment from a blue-chip defensive lineman in addition to Jimmons and Saleapaga, allowing them time to develop.

USC remains in the mix for Houston commit Jordan Elliott, and though Oluwole Betiku seemingly eliminated the Trojans recently, you can never truly count out the Serra-to-USC pipeline.

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