USC Football Recruiting: Junior Weekend and New Offer Roundup

The 2018 USC football recruiting class is starting to heat up, with the Trojans holding their annual junior weekend with a ton of unofficial visitors.

Even though Signing Day was just over two weeks ago, it’s never too early start building relationships in the 2018 USC football recruiting class. That’s what Junior Days are all about across the country. The Trojans do it a little differently, playing host to a number of 2018 recruits this weekend. They also doled out a few out-of-state scholarship offers.

USC currently ranks seventh in the 247Sports Composite team rankings. The class is highlighted by Matt Corral and Raymond Scott.

Here’s what has gone down this weekend so far…

New Offers:

• ★★★★ WR Chase Cota (OR): A tall receiver at 6-foot-3.5 from Medford, Ore., Cota visited USC over the weekend. He boasts only a handful of offers including his in-state options –Oregon and Oregon State– but has been in contact with a number of schools like Alabama and Notre Dame. He visited both in 2015 and is ranked as the 218th overall recruit in the 2018 247Sports Composite.
• ★★★★ CB Houston Griffith (FL): Despite being at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Griffith is a Chicago native. The nation’s 7th-ranked corner spent the weekend back in his home state at Illinois’s Junior Day, while receiving his USC offer. He’s been offered by almost every big-time program in the country, especially from within Big Ten country.
• ★★★★ DT Michael Thompson (MO): At 6-foot-3.5, 291 pounds, Thompson is a big defensive lineman the Trojans would like to land. The St. Louis, Mo. product is rated as the seventh-best tackle in the 2018 class, and has already been recruited by Alabama, where he spent Junior Day last month.
• ★★★★ S DeMarvion Overshown (TX): A big safety/linebacker hybrid from rural east Texas, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Overshown ranks as the 145th overall recruit for 2018. His list of offers including every Power 5 school within the state of Texas, plus Alabama and Florida State.
• ★★★★ CB D’Shawn Jamison (TX): Another four-star corner, Jamison out of Houston is a highly coveted playmaker who has excelled in all three-phases at Lamar HS, including as a returner. He’s the 20th-rated corner in the country and has a bevy of offers, including his Junior Day destination this weekend: Texas.
• ★★★★ DE Tahj Rice (KY): Being a strongside defensive end from Louisville means Rice is a big target for the hometown Cardinals. But he’s been getting a fair bit of attention after a strong junior season, picking offers this month from USC and Oregon. For now, Duke might be the best positioned school to pluck him out of Kentucky, as they hosted him for Junior Day, and got him on an unofficial visit during the season. Rice is the 10th-ranked strongside defensive end in the class.

Tweets From Junior Unofficial Visitors: