The Trojans get All-City choice Byron Moore Jr., UCLA picks up some key linemen, but both lose out for the services of top-rated linebacker Manti Te'o.
On a topsy-turvy day in college football recruiting, USC showed it's not about to relinquish its status as a national power while UCLA displayed signs of a resurgence with a finishing kick that hasn't been seen in years.
It was the first day for high school seniors to sign a letter of intent, and there were plenty of surprises.
While USC lost out on three players it thought were within reach, the Trojans came away with another top-five recruiting class. It started early this morning with Harbor City Narbonne defensive back Byron Moore Jr. signing with the Trojans after dropping them two weeks ago because of concerns about playing time.
There was bad news for USC when the No. 1 linebacker prospect in the nation, Manti Te'o of Honolulu Punahou, chose Notre Dame, and receiver Alshon Jeffrey signed with South Carolina after being a Trojans commit. And another top linebacker prospect, Vontaze Burfict from Corona Centennial, signed with Arizona State.
But the Trojans demonstrated their recruiting power by going out out-of-state to land three athletic national recruits in outside linebacker Frankie Telfort from Miami Gulliver Prep, defensive back Jawanza Starling from Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln and linebacker Jarvis Jones from Columbus (Ga.) Carver.
As of this afternoon, Rivals.com had USC ranked No. 2 behind Louisiana State, and Scout.com had USC No. 4 in the national team rankings.
But the school making the biggest jump today was UCLA, which went from No. 16 to No. 7 in Scout.com's ratings by landing a pair of huge offensive linemen, 6-foot-6, 320-pound Stan Hasiak from Hawaii Kapolei and 6-4, 285-pound Xavier Su'a-Filo from Provo (Utah) Timpview.
The Bruins also picked up running back Damien Thigpen from Manassas (Va.) Stonewall Jackson. All were late -decisions, something that the Bruins have struggled to pull off in their favor with top prospects. UCLA lost out on one commit, tight end Billy Sanders from Coeur d'Alene (Id.) Lake City, who signed with Miami.
USC and UCLA are the finalists for another top player, receiver-defensive back Randall Carroll of Los Angeles Cathedral. Carroll, considered the fastest teenager in California after winning the 100 and 200 at last year's state track championships, is scheduled to make an announcement later today on his college choice.
Perhaps the most startling decision was made by Te'o, who received strong wooing from USC and UCLA but ended up at Notre Dame. Only last weekend, Te'o took a visit to USC and was considered a top priority for Trojans Coach Pete Carroll. UCLA turned over its recruiting to assistant Norm Chow, a Punahou graduate. For the Fighting Irish to come out on top showed that Coach Charlie Weis isn't going away any time soon.
Ohio State started the day ranked No. 1 by Scout.com and Rivals.com, but the Buckeyes lost out on 6-5 All-American receiver Marlon Brown from Memphis (Tenn.) Harding. He signed with Georgia.
Alabama, LSU and USC were in a tight race with Ohio State to finish No. 1.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/football/la-sp-high-school-recruiting5-2009feb05,0,4339233.column
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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