USC Signing Day 2016 Tracker, Live Blog and Open Thread

It’s USC Signing Day 2016! The Trojans are looking to finish the recruiting cycle with a bang after a quiet January. Will Clay Helton and company close the deal on their top targets?

USC heads into Signing Day 2016 with 13 committed players. Seven of that number are already enrolled in classes including five-star Serra stud Oluwole Betiku and four-star receivers Michael Pittman and Josh Imatorbhebhe. The remaining six, like four-star Bishop Amat teammates Tyler Vaughns and Trevon Sidney, all look set to sign with the Trojans today.

A boost for the Trojans could come from landing five-star cornerback Jack Jones while positional needs could certainly be bolstered with signatures from the likes of defensive line targets Jonathan Kongbo, Connor Murphy, Boss Tagaloa and Maxs Tupai or tight end prospect Devin Asiasi.

Schedule | Twitter

Last year, USC secured the nation’s top class with a Signing Week haul of Iman Marshall, Rasheem Green, Osa Masina, John Houston and Porter Gustin. This year, the Trojan class enters the day without such lofty rankings available, but there is still the possibility of seeing the nation’s No. 20 class rise.

We’ll have full coverage of Signing Day here at Reign of Troy, as we track all of the Trojans’ signings and live blog, in addition to generating conversation below in our comment section.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee, crack open a Red Bull and strap in for the recruiting roller coaster ride. Welcome to Signing Day.

STAY UP TO DATE ON SIGNING DAY: Download our app in Apple’s App Store and Google Play on Android devices.

Live Blog

4:25 pm: Now that USC has the 2016 class in place, which five freshman have the best shot at earning starting jobs in 2016? Read more>>>

2:45 pm: How did new, current and past Trojans react to the Signing Day happenings? We’ve got a round up of the social media highlights of the day. Read more>>>

1:55 pm: USC’s 2016 class appears all wrapped up. That’s 20 commits: Two 5-stars, 12 4-stars and six 3-stars. Here’s a look at the completed class.

All that remains is Clay Helton’s Signing Day press conference, which is scheduled for 5:00 pm. You can catch the live stream here.

1:45 pm: Long Beach Poly video commitments strike again! Jack Jones announced his decision to join USC with a video exclusive featuring Snoop Dogg. Read more>>>

1:20 pm: Tyler Vaugns and Trevon Sidney have signed their LOIs. One more to go…

12:40 pm: Boss Tagaloa picks UCLA over USC, Michigan, Cal and Washington. Read more>>>

No big surprises from the De La Salle duo, considering the departure of Marques Tuiasosopo. USC has one scholarship left and there happens to be one more Trojan target who needs to announce. Jack Jones is up next at 1:30 pm.

12:35 pm: Devin Asiasi picks Michigan over USC, UCLA and Alabama. Read more>>>

12:30 pm: Still no official LOI announcements from USC, but USCFootball.com reports that WR Velus Jones has signed on the dotted line while E.J. Price signed during his announcement ceremony. Still waiting on Tyler Vaughns, and Trevon Sidney.

12:10 pm: Signing Day isn’t done yet. Next up, De La Salle’s Devin Asiasi and Boss Tagaloa are due to announce in about ten minutes. Live stream info here.

12:05 pm: That’s 19 down just one more to go! E.J. Price picks USC over hometown Georgia, giving the Trojans an athletic run-blocking tackle. Read more>>>

11:30 am: Four-star OT E.J. Price will be picking between USC and Georgia in 15 minutes. You can catch his announcement here.

11:10 am: With just two spots left in the class, but four prospects still to announce, there’s a question as to whether or not Fatu can blueshirt and count against next year’s number. In order to blueshirt a player cannot have taken an official visit to the school or signed an LOI for the school. Fatu checks the first box, but the second requirement is murky. Both 247Sports and USCFootball.com have listed Fatu as a signee. Therefore, he could not blueshirt unless it turns out those reports are mistaken.

10:35 am: Of course Jonathan Kongbo has no care for relaxation or recharging. The top JUCO prospect picked Tennessee, who he de-committed from in January, over USC. Read more>>>

10:15 am: The waiting game begins anew. E.J. Price is the next Trojan target to announce, but his decision won’t come until 11:45 am. Now’s the time to grab some food, relax and recharge before the Signing Day lunchtime blitz begins.

10:10 am: Pie Young is a Trojan! The three-star wide receiver-cornerback joins fellow Floridian Jamel Cook in picking USC. That leaves Clay Helton and company just two spots left in the class.

9:50 am: While we wait for news from Florida on Keyshawn “Pie” Young, check out Frank Martin and proof that childhood dreams can come very very true.

9:45 am: Since USC doesn’t seem to want to announce which LOIs they have received, we’re going to go by word of mouth. Cary Angeline, Frank Martin and Vavae Malepeai have signed, per Twitter. Meanwhile, USCFootball.com reports that Jamel Cook, Jordan Iosefa and Josh Fatu have sent in their LOIs.

9:05 am: USC is having a flipping party today. Long Beach City College’s Joshua Fatu, a three-star former Boise State commit and defensive tackle, is now set to sign for the Trojans. Read more>>>

9:00 am: Signing Day is well and truly under way, but for the record, USC has not officially announced any LOIs received. Having said that, Cary Angeline and Frank Martin have posted picture and video proof of their signing on the dotted line, while the Trojans have received commitments from Connor Murphy, Vavae Malepeai and Jamel Cook since the day began.

Next up? Keyshawn “Pie” Young is due to announce at 10:00 am.

8:50 am: Make it a double! Connor Murphy picks the Trojans, giving USC a major boost at a position of need and their second big commitment of the hour. Read more>>>

8:40 am: The state of Hawaii’s all-time leading rusher Vavae Malepeai beats Murphy to the punch and becomes USC’s 15th commit for 2016 after flipping from Oregon. Consider it revenge for DeAnthony Thomas. Read more>>>

8:15 am: Next up for the Trojans is Phoenix defensive end Connor Murphy. He’s set to announce between USC, Michigan, Alabama, Oregon and ASU at 8:30 am. Momentum is on the Trojans’ side for this one.

8:05 am: As expected, Nordin chooses Michigan over USC. The Trojans just added kicker Michael Brown as a blueshirt on Monday, so this is no surprise. Read more>>>

7:50 am: Kongbo now indicates that his decision will come later today, at 1:00 pm PT. SEC schools Tennessee and Ole Miss appear to have the upper hand at this point though.

7:40 am: Still waiting on Kongbo, but the nation’s top kicker Quinn Nordin is due to make his decision between USC and Michigan coming up at 8:00 am.

7:15 am:  Sometime in the near future, Jonathan Kongbo will make his decision between USC, Tennesee, Ole Miss and Florida State. But as always is the case on Signing Day, it’s a waiting game.

6:40 am: Kaboom! Four-star safety Jamel Cook has flipped from Florida State to USC, giving the Trojans their first big victory of the day and a new top-level defensive back. Read more >>>

6:35 am: Still no officially announced LOIs received, but there’s an update on former USC commit Keyshon Camp, who signed with Pitt this morning.

5:35 am: No LOIs in officially yet but they’re coming…

5:15 am: Two LOIs that won’t be coming USC’s way are from four-star safety Kyzir White and three-star defensive end Jachai Polite. Both were pursued late by the Trojans as potential Signing Day flips but White stuck with West Virginia and Polite kept his word to Florida.

5:00 am: Good morning Trojan fans! It’s 8:00 am on the east coast, which means its about time for LOIs to start rolling in. Get ready.

9:00 pm: Four-star safety Brandon Burton started Signing Day off in the eastern time zone by picking UCLA over USC, Arizona and Florida State. Read more >>>

Of course, there are certainly better things to come for USC as Signing Day 2016 rolls forward. In the meantime, here’s a tweet from USC Athletics to get the day started in style.

Letters of Intent Received (12):

[table id=102 /]

Early Enrollees (7):

[table id=100 /]

The Big Board:

[table id=101 /]

STAY UP TO DATE ON SIGNING DAY: Download our app in Apple’s App Store and Google Play on Android devices.