What Does Tyler Vaughns’ Commitment Mean for USC Football?

Tyler Vaughns committed to USC football this afternoon, giving Steve Sarkisian’s Trojans one of the more highly coveted receivers in the 2016 class.

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What does Vaughns’ commitment mean for USC?

For starters, the Trojans picked up a four-star player from a local school who has long been considered a USC-lean. With fellow Bishop Amat receiver Trevon Sidney already in the fold, securing Vaughns commitment is just another sign of how the Trojans can lock down big time recruits in Southern California.

In terms of national recruiting rankings the commitment should certainly boost USC’s recruiting class.

Vaughns is Scout’s top receiver on the west and No. 2 among receivers nationally. 247Sports lists him No. 5 at the position and the No. 4 player in the state of California. Over at Rivals, Vaughns is rated No. 4 at the position and in the state. ESPN lists him notably lower at No. 13 among receivers and No. 9 in the state.

Rankings ultimately don’t matter, however, and it is Vaughns on the field ability that ultimately stands out the most.

Like most recruits at USC’s level, Vaughns possesses the athleticism you’d want to see from a receiver, though he does lack some speed. At 6-foot-3, he is already bigger than most of USC’s targets and he has room to grow beyond that, so speed may be a secondary concern.

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What really sets him apart are his glue-like hands and instinctive ability to find the ball. Even with defenders covering him, Vaughns just knows how to catch the ball, which may be the most underrated skill when it comes to recruiting evaluations.

USC quarterbacks will certainly love his ability to go up for the ball at the highest point in traffic. He is the kind of receiver who will make a QB look better than he is, because he’ll make the catch no matter where the ball is thrown.

In terms of USC’s 2016 recruiting class, Vaughns checks in as the fifth receiver of the group, which on the surface means he could be the final piece for that position.

However, USC could still be in the running for recent Oregon de-commit Theo Howard.

Howard is a four-star from Westlake who USC has been after for awhile. Should he turn his eyes towards the Trojans, there could be shuffling in the class to make him fit.