USC football picks up massive win on the recruiting trail

This season, one of the USC football team's biggest struggles has been along the offensive line. One way to fix that issue in the long term is to continually restock the program's pipeline with talented high school prospects and develop them into key contributors.

That's why Friday was a huge day for the Trojans. Aaron Dunn, a 6-foot7, 290-pound offensive lineman from Spanish Fork, Utah committed to head coach Lincoln Riley and his staff giving the Trojans a huge boost at a position of need.

Until Thursday, Dunn had been committed to his home state university, Utah. However, just a day after news of his decommittment from the Utes became public, he announced his intention to join the Trojans.

Dunn is rated by 247Sports.com's composite rankings as the No. 19 overall tackle and No. 186 player in the class of 2025. Aside from Utah and USC, the 4-star prospect's offer list also includes such programs as Oregon, BYU, UCLA, Arizona State, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, and many others.

Gabe Brooks, a scouting analyst for 247Sports, has the following scouting report on Dunn: "Tall, athletic offensive tackle prospect with elite height and a lean build that wears existing mass well. Possesses ample bulking capacity as desired. Narrower through the torso, but long-armed to allow for high pass-pro upside. Shows relatively good knee-bending ability and generally does not get caught off balance. Plays pretty flat-backed in pass protection.

"Not a ballerina on the outside, but creates a wide orbit around the arc and displays redirecting mobility to stave off counters. Can lumber a bit when pulling and climbing, but gets to his spots on schedule and packs some punch. Looks to finish blocks and searches extra work. Strong, leverage-oriented D-linemen can get inside his frame and use naturally higher center of gravity against him.

"Majority of tackle snaps have come on the right side, but has gotten left-side reps. Also has valuable part-time D-line snaps and a strong athletic profile, including 17.2 ppg as a junior on the basketball court. Still developing leverage consistency and adding mass, but a good functional athlete in this tackle class with some elite traits in certain categories and a strong athletic foundation. Projects to high-major college competition with the potential to become a desired NFL Draft candidate."

With this development, the current USC recruiting class is up to 23 players. It is rated No. 10 in the nation and third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and Oregon.

In that class, are four high school offensive line prospects. It is a sign that Riley and Co. are intent on upping the talent in the program along the offensive front. And adding players of Dunn's pedigree is a huge step in making sure that in the future, the Trojans won't have the type of offensive line issues that they have had to play through this year.