Latest Josh Conerly prediction will have USC football fans buzzing

One of the best 2022 offensive line recruits in the entire country, Josh Conerly, has now officially been projected to sign with USC football by On3's Recruiting Projection Machine (RPM).

There have been recent rumblings lately that Conerly could potentially be heading to SoCal after Michigan Offensive Coordinator Josh Gattis was poached by Miami. Most signs pointed to Conerly going to Michigan, so when he decided to sign late, USC emerged as a possibility due to all the momentum USC and their offense has gained this offseason. Now that Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams, Josh Henson and co. are at SC, he has a new decision to make.

SC was seen by many as the No. 2 team in contention for him after he and Williams followed each other on Instagram after Williams was brought on at SC. While some, including 247Sports, do not see the player they have rated as the No. 2 Offensive Tackle in the country (No. 15 overall recruit in the country) signing with SC, it is good news for USC fans that On3 at least has him coming here because it shows that they at least have a legit chance.

Josh Conerly will take an official visit to USC from March 25th-27th.

Josh Conerly would potentially start for the USC football program if he signed here. He could potentially start at either tackle spot. Right now, SC returns Courtland Ford and picked up Bobby Haskins in the transfer portal (Virginia) to start at the tackle spots.

Ford has some experience as the left tackle, which is important, but he's not as talented as Conerly. Therefore, it could go either way. Don't be surprised if Conerly ends up winning the job if he signs in LA.

It's even possible both could start, and Haskins will be on the bench. I wouldn't count on that, however, as the scouting reports on Haskins have been very positive, and it appears that SC brought him over to start. He was a good player for Virginia.

Perhaps there is a scenario where Andrew Vorhees moves to tackle like he had to at times this past season, and the two starting tackles are he and Conerly. No matter what, there is a real chance that Conerly would be able to play right away if he signed with the Trojans.

If SC can secure the five-star recruit (247Sports), then it would signal that USC is recruiting like the SC of old. There aren't a lot of monsters on the O-Line out here on the west coast, and if SC can land not only one of the most coveted lineman on the west but also one of the most coveted O-lineman in the country, they'd be recruiting exactly how USC should.

There's a difference between recruiting well, like they did in the Clay Helton era, and recruiting flawlessly, like they did in the Pete Carroll era. And after all, Conerly has been very complimentary of the Riley hire in the past:

Both Riley and Henson have made an in-home visit to Conerly before already, and Conerly certainly enjoyed the meet-up:

"It was pretty good, just finally getting to meet Coach Riley in person, especially knowing him for like two, three years now. So it was great to [meet] him, great guy. And it was great meeting Coach Henson as well. They're both great dudes -- they're going to do great things for that offense"

- Josh Conerly, Rainier Beach HS (Seattle)

Conerly's commitment would drastically alter how we view the Trojans' 2022 recruiting class. The class is currently ranked 65th in the country and 10th in the Pac-12 (247Sports). The team elected to build the roster through the transfer portal primarily instead of the recruiting trail, but will of course welcome Conerly with open arms.