Markese Stepp signs with USC during Early Signing Period 2018

Four-star running back Markese Stepp, a recent commit for the Trojans, signed his letter of intent to play for USC Football at the open of the Early Signing Period on Wednesday.

He’s only been a USC Football commit for a few days, but running back Markese Stepp is officially a Trojan.

The four-star prospect out of Indianapolis put pen to paper on Wednesday morning, signing his national letter of intent for the cardinal and gold and locking in his place in USC’s 2018 recruiting class.

Though USC has not announced Stepp’s LOI, Cathedral High School revealed the signing on Twitter.

Stepp had been committed to rival Notre Dame, but backed off his commitment at the start of December. This past weekend he took an official visit to USC and announced his commitment to the Trojans on Sunday. Running backs coach Deland McCullough, who had coached at Indiana before joining USC last year, will have been pivotal in snagging the commitment.

A 6-foot, 228-pound prospect, Stepp is a north-south runner with power to his game. He averaged 7.9 yards per rush, gaining 975 yards on the ground as a senior and adding 17 touchdowns, per MaxPreps.com.

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The only red flag? Nagging hamstring injuries which have limited Stepp throughout his high school career.

Stepp ranks 12th among running backs for 2018. He is the No. 3 overall prospect from Indiana in the class and rates No. 242 nationally.

With the addition of Stephen Carr in 2017 and Vavae Malepeai in 2016, USC’s needs are not dire at running back despite the expected departure of Ronald Jones II for the NFL. Stepp’s addition bolsters the Trojans depth and should offer different dynamic with a clear size advantage over USC’s other backs.

EARLY SIGNING PERIOD: Live Blog and LOI Tracker

The big question for 2018 revolves around whether or not Stepp’s presence will further dissuade all-purpose back Mychale Salahuddin, a recent USC de-commit , from returning to the fold come Signing Day in February.