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USC football recruiting: Trojan commits impacted by CIF delaying football season

ByAlicia de Artola|
USC football pipeline Mater Dei. (Tom Hauck /Allsport
USC football pipeline Mater Dei. (Tom Hauck /Allsport

Twelve USC football commits will be impacted by CIF delaying the high school football season.

We still don’t know what shape the 2020 USC football season will take, but other adjacent leagues are making moves that seem to show which way the coronavirus pandemic is moving.

On Monday, the California Interscholastic Federation, which governs high school sports, announced their decision to postpone athletics at least through December.

The new schedule would see football played in winter and basketball played in spring. Obviously, it will have a huge ripple effect through recruiting.

USC football commits from California face a big decision

From the get-go, the fears that the high school football season in California would be canceled or postponed created speculation that local athletes would flee to other states to play.

That may still be true, but with surging cases in areas like Arizona, Texas and Florida, the viability of leaving for those states looks dimmer than ever.

Even if players opt to stick around California, they may not actually end up playing their senior season, with the opportunity to enroll early on the board.

Either way, USC has 18 commits for 2021 and the majority of them will be impacted by the CIF decision.

USC football commits in CIF Southern Section

  • QB Jake Garcia (La Habra)
  • QB Miller Moss (Mater Dei in Santa Ana)
  • LB Ma’a Gaoteote (St. John Bosco in Bellflower)
  • DL Jay Toia (Grace Brethren in Simi Valley)
  • DB Calen Bullock (Muir in Pasadena)
  • DB Jaylin Smith (Bishop Alemany in Mission Hills)
  • DB Xamarion Gordon (Warren in Downey)
  • OL Saia Mapakaitolo (Bishop Alemany in Mission Hills)
  • OL Maximus Gibbs (St. John Bosco in Bellflower)
  • OL Mason Murphy (Capistrano)

The CIF Southern Section will allow football practice to begin on Monday, Dec. 14 with the first games scheduled for Friday, Jan. 8. The playoffs will begin on March 19 and finish by April 17.

USC football commits in CIF Los Angeles City Section

  • DB Anthony Beavers (Narbonne in Harbor City)

Trojan commits in Southern Section aren’t the only ones impacted by the CIF ruling. The Los Angeles City Section announced an identical plan for its Fall Sports calendar.

Anthony Beavers is active on Twitter, so it was fitting for him to speak up first.

“Time to get ready for college,” the four-star athlete wrote.

While that’s not an official word from Beavers, some athletes have already made a decision.

CHECK OUT: USC is hurt, not helped, by Alabama cancelation

Texas A&M commit Victory Vaca took to Twitter to announce he will skip his senior season of high school football and enroll with the Aggies in January.

Akili Calhoun, a three-star Cal commit, announced he’s leaving early for Berkeley.

USC football commits in CIF Sac-Joaquin Section

  • ATH Prophet Brown (Monterey Trail in Elk Grove)

USC’s newest commitment, Prophet Brown, comes from the Sac-Joaquin Section. While they to are expected to announce a start date in December or January, they have not officially released a schedule yet.

Per the overall CIF Sports Calendar, the season must be resolved by April 17.

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And of course, there are high-value USC recruiting targets who will have to figure out their senior season of football. Those include five-star defensive end Korey Foreman, four-star linebacker Raesjon Davis and four-star lineman Josh Simmons.

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