USC football: 5 recruits most likely to sign with the Trojans

These five recruits would be huge for USC football turning back around.

You’re not going to come up with a short list of reasons as to why USC football head coach Clay Helton is on the hot seat entering the 2020 season. But among the reasons is that the recruiting has not been at the typical standard of the Trojans program. They just barely cracked the top 20 classes in 2019 and then were outside of the top 50 last year.

For the 2021 recruiting class, though, Helton and his staff are aiming to change that in a major way. The Trojans currently have the No. 7 class in 2021 according to the 247Sports Composite team rankings. Though USC has not landed a 5-star just yet, they have three commits in the top 100, including two in-state quarterbacks.

They aren’t done yet, though. In fact, the Trojans could end up with one of the top five or even top three classes for 2021 by the time National Signing Day rolls around. With that in mind, these five recruits seem on track to end up signing with USC.

USC football would be over the moon if the Trojans could sign the biggest fish in the 2021 recruiting pond.

We’re not going to tease anything or beat around the bush — the one name that USC football fans are all focused on as it pertains to the 2021 recruiting class is strongside defensive end Korey Foreman, a player who ranks as the No. 1 overall prospect in the class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Foreman had initially committed to Clemson but the California native reopened his recruitment in April. The Tigers remain one of his top choices but, with his commitment now up for grabs once again, the Trojans have since emerged as the possible favorite to land the highly touted defensive end, keeping him in state and drastically changing the face of this class and their defense.

247Sports’ Charles Power compared Foreman to New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan and it’s not difficult to see why. At 6-foot-4, 265 pounds, Foreman moves like a man much smaller than what he measures in as, showcasing great burst off the edge and the already potent ability to convert speed to power in addition to great bend when getting off the line and after the quarterback.

Whether or not Foreman ends up with USC might depend on how the Trojans fare in the 2020 season. If the team can live up to some slowly growing hype this year, then it might land them the biggest fish in the recruiting pond. If the lackluster performance under Helton continues, though, Clemson could get their guy once again.