USC loads up on St. John Bosco players with Matt Colombo commitment

On Tuesday, running back Matt Colombo became the second preferred walk-on from St. John Bosco to commit to the USC recruiting class of 2020.

Even if USC recruiting pipelines at other programs are drying up, the Trojans are finishing out the 2020 recruiting cycle ensuring St. John Bosco is well-represented on the roster.

Running back Matt Colombo became the latest of the Braves to pledge to USC on Tuesday night, dropping his commitment to the Trojans on Twitter.

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He is slated to join as a preferred walk-on, according to Chris Trevino of 247Sports and Ryan Young of TrojanSports.com. Three-star inside linebacker Danny Lockhart, a high school teammate of Colombo, also committed to USC as a preferred walk-on last week.

https://twitter.com/colombo_matt/status/1224895679014653952

Colombo doesn’t jump off the page as a recruit. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder doesn’t have a rating from any recruiting service.

He served as a running back for the Braves in 2019 with 290 yards and five touchdowns on 42 carries. He also played free safety, logging six total tackles and one interception.

The Trojans struggled with running back depth this past season, so it makes sense to find a few more bodies, even if it’s just to keep things running on the practice field. Vavae Malepeai, Stephen Carr and Markese Stepp were all injured for much of the campaign while the likes of Quincy Jountti and walk-ons Chris Edmondson and Ben Easington haven’t had the best availability either.

Colombo’s addition may not speak well to USC’s chances of landing four-star running back Michael Drennen, who is slated to announce his choice between the Trojans and Kentucky on Signing Day.

It’s possible USC is stacking the deck with St. John Bosco representatives in preparation for the 2021 class. Four-star wide receiver Beaux Collins is an elite prospect who hails from Bosco. He recently committed to Clemson, so the battle to flip his pledge is on. The Trojans also have an offer out to three-star Bosco lineman Maximus Gibbs.

They have a 2021 commitment from four-star linebacker Ma’a Gaoteote, while the 2020 class boasts three-star defensive tackle Kobe Pepe.

Trojans already on the roster who hail from Bosco include cornerback Chris Steele, linebacker Ralen Goforth and tight end Jude Wolfe along with walk-ons like punter Will Rose, linebacker Spencer Gilbert.

As a preferred walk-on, Colombo won’t impact USC’s tricky scholarship math, which has limited the quantity of scholarships available in the class. Even though the Trojans have just 13 scholarship players on board, they only have room for two or three more signees. Wednesday’s Signing Day will reveal if they can land a few more stars to help salvage a woeful class ranking.