10 QUESTIONS: Projected USC Starters, Eddrick Houston, Jaylen Harvey, Jason Zandamela + Top 2025 Targets,

On Monday night (8/13), 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

As of today, where would your best guess be on Jaylen Harvey?

 won’t ever offer a guess with recruiting, at any time, but USC is definitely strongly in the mix for 4-Star Gaithersburg (MD) Quince Orchard Edge Jaylen Harvey. Last month the feeling was USC, Penn St. and Florida. Florida has now been eliminated with the Trojans, Penn St. and Maryland making up Harvey’s Top 3 schools. 

The longer a home school remain a Top school, the higher their odds are, but as of today it appears to be USC vs Penn State. James Franklin and staff got all of the predictions right now, but Harvey’s USC visit was extremely impactful. But there’s also the reality of where USC is located vs Happy Valley (PA) and College Park (MD).

As Quince Orchard head coach John Kelley said to me one day, “There are a lot of schools guys from there have to fly over to get to USC.” That’s just a reality that’s difficult to overcome in many cases. But both of Harvey’s parents are very high on USC and won’t be lobbying for Jaylen to stay closer to home. Roy Manning also has a very solid relationship with Harvey’s family. 

I’ll be swinging by Quince Orchard today or Tuesday (8/15).

Who is USC looking at for Offensive Tackle?

With offensive tackle recruiting, don’t expect us to throw names of targets at you all until the season begins. Josh Henson will be identifying and offering prospects after three to four games. It could happen sooner, but that’s the plan now.

Who are some guys in the class of 2025 that we should look out for as rising stars in your opinion?

CB Dijon Lee – Mission Viejo
Safety Jadyn Hudson – Pittsburg 
LB Noah Mikhail and Madden Faraimo (USC’s Top 2) – Bonita HS and JSerra
Edge Nasir Wyatt – Mater Dei
OT Douglass Utu – Bishop Gorman
WR Phillip Bell – Bishop Alemany
RB Jordon Davison – Mater Dei
IOL SJ Alofatuli – Bishop Gorman

Is Eddrick Houston all Ohio State or do we have a shot?

As of Friday, I was told it’s still USC vs Ohio State, with the Buckeyes gaining significant separation.

I know you hate guessing, but if you had to, who is our starting Front 4 vs San Jose St.?

Anthony Lucas, Kyon Barrs, Bear Alexander and Jamil Muhammad was my previous guess, so I’ll stick with that. But I have no idea is my real answer. No chance I’m going out on a limb with a guess without adding a disclaimer. lol

There’s nearly two weeks left until a season begins. Never know what can happen or who’ll make a late surge in practice. We will add our projections at some point soon.

Considering the changes that have occurred during fall camp, if you had to put together a starting lineup on both sides of the ball for SJSU what would it be?

I get this is a topic of interest, but we have no way of knowing what the starting lineup will look like with nearly two weeks remaining until a game is played. For me, it’s impossible to offer up all names for this and nail it. I’ve seen zero practices (warm ups is not practice) for starters. Secondly, I haven’t checked in with anyone on this topic, because there’s no game until August 26. Today is August. 14. 

Chances are high the guys you think will be the likely starters are the same as mine. That’s what practice reports and other content is for.

If everyone remains healthy….

OFFENSE: Caleb Williams, Marshawn Lloyd, Dorian Singer, Tahj Washington, Brenden Rice, Lake McRee, Jonah Monheim, Emmanuel Pregnon, Justin Dedich, Michael Tarquin and Jarrett Kingston.

DEFENSE: Jacobe Covington, Ceyair Wright, Chris Roland, Calen Bullock, Bryson Shaw, Mason Cobb, Eric Gentry, Kyon Barrs, Anthony Lucas, Jamil Muhammad and Bear Alexander. Jack Sullivan could easily start too.

Do you like USC’s chances on getting a commitment from Sione Laulea?

USC is among the schools with a strong shot at signing Sione Laulea.

How involved has Kliff Kingsbury been in the offense and is he the next Rams coach or Lincoln Riley?

Lincoln Riley will be at USC for 25+ years. That a good answer? lol

USC had no problem getting Isaiah Collier and Bronny James to commit… Does USC BBall play by different NIL rules compared to Football?

Makes you wonder if football recruiting would be different with one and done opportunities.

But I like this reply from @Eeks2284:

“The difference between the two sports is that elite freshmen basketball players are ready to contribute their first season while elite freshmen in football often need more time to develop into players that are ready to contribute and play meaningful snaps (e.g. KF/Nelson). Collier’s already projected as a lottery pick. Easier to devote money to football transfers that are ready to contribute now rather than gamble on freshmen that might be good in a couple years. Another example is that elite NFL free agents get more money than NFL 1st rounders.”

When USC offered Elyjah Gordon,he only had 2 other offers..since then Gordon’s offer list has grown (including a offer from Oregon)..is he a serious take for USC?

Elyjah Gordon earned an offer at a USC camp in June, but I’m not sure he’s a top target at this time.

What are your thoughts on moving Devan Thompkins to OT? He certainly has the athleticism and at 6′ 5″ 260 lbs entering his redshirt Freshman season, if he adds some good weight and ends up at around 285 lbs by next season, he could be the perfect build for OT.

I’ve heard nothing about potentially moving Devan Thompkins to Offensive Tackle, but he’s definitely an impressively athletic football player. I’m sure someone like him could pull it off. 

Devan’s still a very raw football player. Without me putting eyes on him at practices, your guess is as good as mine about a potential switch.

Which high school teams are you most looking forward to seeing?

I’m looking forward to each week of the season,. To start off I’ll see Booker T Washington face Banneker on 8/18. Kameryn Fountain plays for Washington. The next day I’ll be at Douglass vs Mays in Atlanta.

The following weekend is Bosco vs St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis vs Chaminade-Madonna Prep and American Heritage vs St. Johns College Prep. May skip USC vs San Jose State to see those last three games on August 26.

Are Kameryn Fountain and Jason Zandamela still pretty solidly committed? Or is NIL going to be a factor with these two?

As of today, they’re definitely solid USC commits.

What were the biggest misses on the class of 2024 so far in your humble opinion.

If I was a USC coach, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa is considered the biggest miss….but there’s an entire season to play and King hasn’t signed. Honestly, of all the guys USC had a great shot at, he’s the only big miss in my book. Kyng is a dude you likely can’t replace with another high school kid or transfer.

Is the “jump on the rocket ship before it’s too late” tactic working against USC to some degree? With the two recent decommits, it feels like maybe some recruits are committing to USC to reserve their spot but in reality aren’t 100% solid in their pledge. If that’s the case, how does the staff approach this issue?

There are guys every year and for a variety of reasons aren’t solid with their commitments….with all schools. But I do think USC should’ve let Dakoda Fields take the Oregon official visit before announcing a school choice. That said, if I’m Donte I’m done with Dakoda.

Haven’t heard much about former highly touted recruit CB Prophet Brown. Any input on he is performing and if he will have a role on the team?

We don’t get to observe practices, so we rely on what coaches and players say after practice. If guys aren’t getting mentioned, it doesn’t mean they aren’t have a strong Fall Camp, but they aren’t standing out on the days media has access. Prior to next week I plan on hitting up USC sources for feedback on all position groups.

With MarShawn Lloyd, do you see USC having the best offense in the PAC-12 this year and possibly the nation?

It’s hard to fathom the USC offense not being among the elite this season, but I believe their addition of MarShawn Lloyd was a huge one. He has the ability to do stuff other running backs didn’t last season. Marshawn is also an outstanding role model for younger players and I never discount the significance of that element.

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