10 QUESTIONS: Jaylen Harvey, Eddrick Houston, Sione Laulea, Mater Dei Targets, House of Victory’s Impact

On Monday night (8/6), our Subscribers submitted questions for THE LATEST edition of the WeAreSC Football AND Recruiting Q&A. 

This is a feature we did weekly throughout the season and will continue up until the February 1, 2024 signing period. 

All questions were submitted on our “WeAreSC Members Only” Forum.

WEARESC SUBSCRIBER QUESTIONS

When the ACC breaks up next (which might happen soon) what schools would u like to see in the B1G?

I was hoping Washington and Oregon would join the B1G, so happy that gone done this week. USC needed two more schools in the same time zone imho.

If there were two schools from the ACC I could choose, I’d go with Miami and Clemson. But I’d be happy with any combo of Miami, Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina.

First of all, thanks for the coverage that you and the On3 staff are providing of the summer practices. My question is..coming into June USC only had three verbal commits,do you anticipate that USC will try to have more verbals by June of next year? If you had to predict, can you give us a couple of candidates on who might give USC a soon verbal commit?

I do believe Lincoln Riley and staff would prefer a significant number of commits by the end of June or July….annually. A really good 2023 season and USC could have double digit commits before June.

The next two USC recruits in line to announce commitments are Edge Jaylen Harvey and DL Eddrick Houston. Harvey told me he’ll likely announce this month and Houston’s set to reveal his school choice August 22. The Trojans have as good a shot as any school with Harvey, but it appears Houston is a heavy lean to Ohio State.

Do you think the sports betting investigation going on at Iowa St, will change CLR’s approach to the injury report? Kelly at LSU says he will be more transparent because of it?

Won’t claim to be in the know whether Lincoln Riley will change his approach or not, but I’m guessing it’s something he’ll get asked about.

What’s your favorite non-USC college football uniform?

I’m really old school when it comes to uniforms. Give me Penn State or Alabama. Love the iconic uniforms like USC, Michigan, Oklahoma, Notre Dame etc.

Will you be giving me a spot on your “Good News” podcast for the fishing report..?? I need to start researching and interviewing.

If you bring that production crew with you.

By my count, we have 83 guys on scholarship. Do you know if Riley plans on awarding a schollie to one or more Walk On’s?

I’d bet a lot of money those offers go to walk ons.

With the season right around the corner what USC/High School games are you looking forward to going to the most?

Season begins on August 18 and I’ll likely be at Buford vs St. Francis Academy in Buford (GA). If there’s no reason for me to head there prior to Eddrick Houston’s August 22 announcement, I’ll likely be at Mater Dei vs Centennial.

But there are so many games I’m looking forward to attending early in the season. 

Bosco vs St. Thomas Aquinas play on August 26. Same day and venue we get St. Francis Academy vs Chaminade-Madonna Prep and St. Johns College Prep vs American Heritage. All games are on ESPN.

With all the conference realignment what would be your Top 5 BIG 10 away games after we make the move?

Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Iowa. Been to most already, but not Penn State. A Penn St. white out game is a bucket list item for me.

If you could do it over would you move USC to the B1G or SEC?

I think the move to the B1G makes more sense to me with the past affiliations with the Rose Bowl.

What will you most miss about the PAC-12?

Complaining. We all down low need a fix of whining from time to time. The PAC-12 was like low hanging rotten/foul fruit lol

Let me add this, there are some exceptional people we work with from the Pac-12 or Pac-12 Networks. In that regard, what’s happened this month is truly tragic tbh. There are many really awesome people we’ve gotten to know.

What will you wear at a Penn St. white out game?

When will the start times for rest of the season be announced?

I don’t have any idea about TV scheduling, but many times are set throughout the season. Depending on the team records, I believe they must come out at least two weeks before the game is to be played.

Being that Mater Dei has been a USC pipeline, what are you “able” to share with us as to the the reason(s) why USC was unable to land any of Mater Dei’s six top 100 recruits?

Interest in Oregon and their NIL offer was too much for USC to overcome with Brandon Baker, ran out of a spot for DeAndre Carter, didn’t really recruit Elijah Brown and Nathaniel Frazier, Zabien Brown was lured by Nick Saban and Alabama. That leaves Aydin Breland who’ll likely end up at an SEC school, but he likely won’t decide on a school until this Fall.

Other than Baker, not sure missing on anyone else is all that significant. USC has three cornerbacks committed with a great shot at Sione Laulea. Offensive Guard spots are filled and Riley won’t settle on a prep QB he sort of likes. I would’ve taken Frazier, but I’m not so arrogant to think my judgement is better than Kiel McDonald’s. 

I do foresee USC winning battles for multiple Mater Dei kids in 2025. But USC needs to ball out this season on defense in order for a lot of progress to happen.

Without NIL, do you think USC would’ve had a better, worse or even, 2023 and 2024 HS classes?

USC’s main NIL Collective House of Victory is helping with recruiting. Fans will continue to see the benefits of this collective as the season develops and into the next offseason.

Are there any Stanford OL commits that USC could continue to target? Stanford must be a lot less appealing without a conference?

Nobody can transfer until the season ends, so let’s put this topic on pause for now. But my guess is USC would look at a few guys from Stanford if they entered the portal.

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