Maximus Gibbs commits to USC football recruiting class for 2021

Three-star offensive lineman Maximus Gibbs pledged to USC football’s 2021 recruiting class.

The USC football recruiting class of 2021 continues to grow.

On Friday, Maximus Gibbs gave the Trojans their second commitment of the week and their fourth in the last four weeks, pledging to USC on Twitter.

Gibbs named a Final 7 on April 11, including USC, Texas A&M, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Nebraska. The Trojans ultimately won the battle for the St. John Bosco-product, keeping him home in Southern California.

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The 247Sports composite rankings feature Gibbs at No. 533 nationally and No. 48 in the state. He is 48th among offensive tackles.

The ranking may not seem like much, but it’s worth noting that offensive tackles aren’t exactly plentiful in California. USC nabbed a commitment from Mason Murphy in early March. As the state’s top offensive tackle available, he still rates as only the 410th player in the 247Sports composite. As for Gibes, he is the fourth-best OT prospect on the board.

At 6-foot-6, Gibbs certainly fits the bill as a tackle prospect. Like many of the other tackles USC has recently signed, he’s got great length. However, he’s significantly larger than any of the five OTs the Trojans added in 2020, weighing in at 360 pounds.

Greg Biggins of 247Sports noted the advantages and disadvantages of that size when evaluating Gibbs:

"“Gibbs is a massive lineman and has worked hard over the last year to lean out and improve his conditioning. His improvement on the field this past season was easy to see and he showed he could be a dominant run blocker and very physical at the point of attack. As he worked himself in to better shape, he improved as a pass blocker too and that will only get better as he continues to improve athletically.”"

The injection of offensive linemen in the class of 2020, with six total signing, hasn’t stopped USC from pursuing more big men. You can never have too many, as it turns out.

The Trojans aren’t in danger of having too many any time soon either. The likes of Liam Jimmons, Frank Martin, and Bernard Schirmer will graduate after the 2020 season while Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jalen McKenzie and Andrew Vorhees are all NFL draft eligible.