USC National Signing Day - Post Mortem

Unless you are Mitch Mustain, National Signing Day 2011 proved a great day to be a Trojan. It was a hectic day, with more switches, decommitments, and surprises than in recent memory. The first big story of the day was Cyrus Kouandjio announcing for Auburn, then having second thoughts before faxing in an LOI. (He later signed with the Crimson Tide, where he will play alongside his brother.) The second big story of the day was DeAnthony Thomas, aka Black Mamba, snubbing the hometown Trojans and officially signing with the Oregon Ducks.

Despite losing out on Mamba and having Torian White pull a Kouandjio - announcing for the Trojans then signing with the Bruins - the Trojans had quite a good day. While we had some misses in addition to Mamba and White, we were able to fill some positions of need with very impressive recruits.

I'll start off with the misses first. Here are the top 5 misses on Signing Day for USC:

1. DeAnthony Thomas - one of the most explosive players in the country on both sides of the ball. There is concern about his durability as a full-time tailback, seeing as how he never finished a high school game at the position. USC wanted him primarily as a cornerback, a position on which Mamba was known to not be so keen. The weekend before NSD, Mamba tripped to Oregon despite Chip Kelly's policy to not host a visitor unless they were not committed or had officially decommitted. Phil Knight and Chip Kelly are happy campers after this one.
   
2. Troy Niklas - Troy is another force on both sides of the ball. He would have been a solid and perhaps immediate contributor to the Trojans offensive line, but instead he will be heading to South Bend where he is projected as a defensive end. Stanford, who recruited him as a tight end, found themselves out of the mix on NSD. This one hurts me almost as much as Mamba - congratulations Irish, you got yourself one hell of an athlete and young man.
   
3. Erique Florence - one of the top rated defensive backs in the nation, it came down to local favorite Auburn and USC. I never thought we had much of a chance, but he is one talented safety. The later addition of Marqise Lee to the Trojans class softened the blow here, but Florence would have been another nice OOS signing for us.
   
4. Delvon Simmons - Simmons was a latecomer to SC's recruiting focus, but after the Army All-American game he took a trip and the Trojans were a final contender for him. With Jurrell Casey gone and Christian Tupou returning from injury, there are big question marks on the interior of SC's front four. Simmons would have helped fill that need immediately, but it turned out to be the last school he added to the mix, UNC, that won out. Christian Heyward's signing with SC makes this hurt a little less.
   
5. Torian White - his announcement for the Trojans was widely unexpected, but not as much as his faxing of an LOI to UCLA instead. Our need on the offensive line was not a secret, and White would have helped us here big time. Obviously Niklas was even more preferred, but it still hurts to lose a player at a position of need - no less to UCLA, and after a televised verbal commitment to USC.

Onto a brighter note, here were the biggest surprises of NSD for the Trojans:

1. Lamar Dawson - Dawson opened up the day of announcements by choosing USC over Oregon, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Michigan State. One of the top inside linebackers in the country, he is also versatile enough to play on the outside. The kid is a stud and immediately fills a gap in USC's roster. It seemed we had better shots at guys like Florence and Niklas, so it was definitely a nice surprise and sign of things to come.
   
2. Aundrey Walker - about an hour after Dawson announced for the Trojans, this fellow OOS recruit did the same. What's more notable here is that Walker comes from a tradition OSU pipeline - including Troy Smith, Donte Whitner, and Ted Ginn, Jr. The last should not come as a surprise since Glenville HS's football and track coach is Ted Ginn, Sr. As a behemoth of an offensive lineman, he can step in immediately with Cyrus Hobbi and shore up some gaps. Tyron Smith left early for the draft, Kris O'Dowd graduated, and Michael Reardon decided not to take up his final year of eligibility. I can't wait to see him pancake some fools.
   
3. Amir Carlisle - okay, so this surprise happened prior to NSD but it was still a surprise. While some scouts cited the fact that we won't have to play him for 4 years, getting this commitment switched away from Stanford is exciting if you saw him play at the Army All-Star game. Carlisle is a strong tailback with the versatility to play slot receiver as well. He's a good, intelligent kid and I'm looking forward to him donning the cardinal and gold.
   
4. Anthony Sarao - he followed Carlisle in making the switch from Stanford prior to NSD. Like Dawson, he's a really good looking linebacker - slotted to play on the outside. From Absecon, NJ he is another great OOS signing. While some compare him to Rey Maualuga, he begs of comparisons to an outside linebacking SC legend from NJ, Brian Cushing. I think with some good instruction he can emulate what Cush did at SC.
   
5. Marqise Lee - he was admittedly an SC lean for quite some time, so this wasn't a pure surprise. Still, with Mamba going to Oregon there was some uncertainty as to which, if any, players would follow him there. Lee has perhaps the most upside of any player in the country. His sheer athleticism is jaw dropping and I think he joins or follows up TJ McDonald as the next great SC safety. Lee was the player I wanted more than anyone else on NSD - maybe even more than Mamba.

The next list of 5 are the top players I expect to make immediate contributions.

1. George Farmer - a teammmate of Marqise Lee's, he has prototypical size and speed for a wide receiver. There's much debate about who is better - him or former high school teammate Robert Woods. I personally don't care which is better, as long as they push each other to get better. They're both freakishly good to begin with, and I think Farmer edges out Prater for the starting WR spot opposite Woods.
   
2. Cyrus Hobbi - much to SC fans' delight, Hobbi announced for the Trojans prior to signing day. Another quality OOS signing from Arizona, he is expected to start on the interior of the offensive line immediately. There was plenty of talk among scouts that many preferred him to top lineman recruit Christian Westerman. I'm really excited about Hobbi and think he bleeds cardinal and gold. Strong in both run and pass blocking, it's going to be a great next 4 years watching him play.
   
3. Antwaun Woods - again, as Casey left for the draft and Tupou's health in question, plugging up the interior of the defensive line was a big area of focus for SC. They hit a home run with both Woods and Heyward, and I think both of them will get plenty of playing time off the bat. Woods is large and aggressive, and he's going to be giving Pac 12 QBs nightmares for years.
   
4. Anthony Sarao
   
5. Lamar Dawson

The penultimate list of 5 is the top 5 recruits that I'm most excited to see play, whether it's next year or another down the line.

1. George Farmer
   
2. Anthony Sarao
   
3. Lamar Dawson
   
4. Marqise Lee
   
5. Max Wittek - another QB from the Mater Dei pipeline. I have a hard time deciding if I like him or Kessler more, but I'm giving Wittek the nod because of his pinpoint accuracy and huge arm. He's not as mobile as Kessler, but I think both will get some good playing time and I have to root for an Orange County guy.

Okay, last list of this posting. Just to throw you all off a little bit, here's my top 5 recruits from previous classes who haven't played much, but who I expect to light up the Colisuem and every other venue on the Trojans' schedule.

1. George Uko - I've given enough air time to the holes at defensive tackle. Uko was the scout team defensive player of the year and I think he's more than ready to prey on opposing QBs. He was a 4-star recruit out of high school and he'll show everyone why.
   
2. Kyle Prater - Prater redshirted last year due to a leg injury, but he's back at full steam and ready to show his skills. At 6'5" with ridiculous hands, he fills the David Ausberry role as the big receiver. Look for lots of fades to go his way. He's made plenty of circus catches in practice and in high school, and I've psyched to see him scores some TDs on the big stage.
   
3. Patrick Hall - a rangy, athletic defensive back who didn't qualify academically when he submitted his LOI. It took him a while to get back on track, but he has all the physical tools to shut down opposing wide receivers. As long as he does everything required of a student athlete, I think he's going to re-open some eyes. (No, that's not an asian joke.)
   
4. Xavier Grimble - the top tight end out of high school a year ago, he's now #2 on the depth chart behind Rhett Ellison. Jordan Cameron graduated and Blake Ayles transferred to Miami. Out of the three tight ends we brought in last year, Grimble is clearly the leader. He's big and strong enough to play on the line (and may be asked to as some point) but he also has great hands and runs well after the catch. I think he brings another dimension that not even Fred Davis or Anthony McCoy had.
   
5. D.J. Morgan - he started the year off with a serious ligament injury, but got on the practice field midway through the season. Marc Tyler is the big tailback, Dillon Baxter is the shifty one, and Morgan is the one with the most downhill speed. He's going to make a lot of people forget that DeAnthony Thomas was once a Trojan commit. That's a big statement, and I wholeheartedly stand by it.

Well, that's it for now. I have to close by saying that I'm not trying to slight the other great Trojan signings by not mentioning them. We brought in great specialists like long snapper Peter McBride, punter Kris Albarado, and kicker Andre Heidari. Up and down the depth chart we have a ton of exciting young men ready to cement their names in Trojan history. FIGHT ON!