By the numbers: USC's recruiting class after Wafle commitment

USC won the battle for elite edge Luke Wafle (N.J.) after fending off a strong push from reigning national champion Ohio State. This commitment proves two things. First, USC isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with anyone on the recruiting trail, including the face of the Big Ten, Ohio State. Second, while the Trojans have made a smart, deliberate effort to lock down their home state, they’ll cross any state lines to land top talent and bring national championship football back to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

I can confirm through multiple industry and recruiting experts that USC was able to secure this commitment through a competitive and aggressive NIL package that was likely a mix of NIL and revenue sharing. The exact numbers are unclear. Steve Wiltfong, On3's Recruiting Director, did confirm that Wafle "will be one of the higher-paid NIL incoming freshmen in this class".

300: Luke Wafle, which is pronounced Way-ful, sorry to disappoint, just became the fourth-highest-ranked commit in USC’s 2026 class, per On3. He’s a four-star edge, ranked No. 14 nationally and the top player in New Jersey. This is truly an elite prospect by any measure. Earlier this week, I talked about USC needing to break that 300-point mark in the 247Sports rankings in order to have a shot at maintaining the top class by the cycle's end. Wafle’s commitment gets them right there with the Trojans, now sitting at 298.72.

2: This commitment also marks the second prospect in USC’s top four for 2026 to come from what most would consider Ohio State’s backyard. Wafle now joins cornerback commit Elbert Hill out of Akron, Ohio, who, by the way, is a consensus top 10 corner across all the major recruiting sites.

30: It’s been widely reported that USC GM Chad Bowden wanted to go big with this class. While he hasn’t given a specific number, the target’s always hovered around 30 commits, and with Luke Wafle on board, USC just hit that number. That likely signals a bit of a slowdown in the 2026 cycle. There will still be a few more additions, and things could shift depending on how the season plays out, but for now, USC looks locked in on that 30 mark, which is 12 more than second-place Texas A&M.

20: That’s the number of blue-chip prospects USC has in its 2026 class, according to 247Sports. For those unfamiliar, blue chips are players rated as either four or five stars, which means USC currently has at least 20 prospects in that elite category already committed. That number leads all schools in this cycle.

13: Wafle is USC’s 13th out-of-state commitment in the 2026 class and, notably, the fifth prospect to come from Big Ten country. The New Jersey native joins fellow commits from Ohio and Illinois, showing USC’s willingness to go to other schools' backyards to poach talent as needed.

A lot to like about USC recruiting efforts

Overall, Luke Wafle’s commitment only helped USC create a little more separation from the pack chasing them for the No. 1 class. Texas A&M has now jumped Georgia for the No. 2 spot, with Ohio State and Notre Dame rounding out the top five. USC still has a few targets left, which are likely one more wide receiver and maybe another offensive lineman, but with the season fast approaching, the staff may be shifting from attack mode to defensive mode. The focus now becomes holding this elite class together and making sure it signs when the time comes.