USC Football Recruiting: Trojans Add Long Snapper Prefered Walk-On

Glendora long snapper Damon Johnson committed to USC football as a preferred walk-on Tuesday.

The two-star prospect is the sixth-rated long snapper in the country, according to the 247 Sports composite.

Johnson was committed to West Virginia until last week when he backed off that pledge following the departure of Mountaineers special teams coach Joe DeForest.

The commitment comes in the wake of the return of special teams coordinator John Baxter to the USC football family. Baxter, who was not retained when Steve Sarkisian took over in 2014, had been on John Harbaugh’s staff at Michigan.

Long-snapping instructor Chris Rubio describes Johnson as an athletic workhorse and dominant snapper with a great attitude.

The Trojans also recently offered the nation’s No. 1 kicker prospect Quinn Nordin from Missouri following Baxter’s hiring, signaling a renewed emphasis on recruiting special teams players.

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Similarly, when Baxter first joined Lane Kiffin’s staff in 2010, the next year the Trojans handed out scholarships to a kicker, punter and long-snapper — Andre Heidari, Kris Albarado and Peter McBride.

Current Trojan long-snapper Zach Smith has one season of eligibility left while Albarado finished his final season at USC this season.

USC brought in blue-shirt kicker Matt Boermeester in 2014, however, he failed to win the job from walk-on Alex Wood in 2015.

As a preferred walk-on, Johnson will not take up a scholarship in USC 2016 class, leaving the Trojans with 14 scholarship commits and six spots left to fill.