The VIPs: My most important visitors at USC today
With early season home games against San Jose St., Nevada and Stanford for USC, the Trojans have not yet been the benefactor of a strong recruiting visit weekend at home this season. However, even with the Trojans playing another unranked opponent, there’s a strong group of notable USC targets attending USC vs Arizona on Saturday night.
WeAreSC’s Scott Schrader gives the full list of expected visitors HERE.
I look a little deeper at some of these visitors and which ones we should look at with a bit more of attention. Here are my VIP visitors for this Saturday night in the Coliseum.
Nasir Wyatt – 2025 LB/EDGE – Mater Dei (CA)
The importance on this one is pretty clear. Wyatt is one of the top talents in the country and is ranked as the No. 1 linebacker in the On300 rankings. An elite edge rusher is one of the premier positions and assets in football and USC needs that in their defense in the future. Lincoln Riley and Co. are also looking to rebuild the connection with the local powerhouses, Mater Dei being at the top of that list.
Wyatt may be the best player on Mater Dei’s roster right now which is why landing him would be a massive boost for USC recruiting. They need to get back to landing the state’s best and Wyatt is exactly that. The USC defense is looking for a bounce back game and recruits like Wyatt seeing it in person would be an ideal situation.
Jontae Gilbert – 2025 Safety – Atlanta (GA)
Gilbert is also a top-50 prospect in the 2025 class and is ranked as the No. 3 safety in the cycle. Gilbert comes from across the country in Georgia, so this may be the only chance he has to visit USC for some time. Grabbing some momentum in his recruitment would go along way for a player who says USC is his “dream school”. The one time Ohio State commit said the Trojans were the No. 1 team in his recruitment and this visit gives them the chance to reclaim and/or solidify that lead.
Gilbert has said he believes Donte Williams is the best secondary coach in college football so a big performance from his group against the Wildcats could help this recruitment.
Dijon Lee – 2025 CB – Mission Viejo (CA)
This is not the first time Lee has visited this season, so his presence is becoming common in the Coliseum. Nevertheless, he is among the most important visitors for this game. Lee, the No. 3 cornerback in the 2025 class, has heavily trended to USC in recent months, including a summer prediction in favor of the Trojans from On3’s Sam Spiegelman.
Like with the others above, it would likely be helpful to see the defense make an improvement from the previous two weeks.
Honorable Mentions
Isaiah Rubin – 2024 CB – Los Alamitos (CA)
The lone uncommitted 2024 prospect visiting USC today, Rubin is among the final targets for USC this cycle. His commitment is expected to come October 20, just two weeks from now. There was speculation the recent Lincoln Riley commitment tweet was in connection with Rubin. Him being in attendance tonight will only give fuel to those speculations. Even if the tweet was not in reference to his upcoming decision, being at the game two weeks before his decision may lead to a Trojan commitment for the three-star cornerback.
Chuck McDonald – 2025 CB – Mater Dei (CA)
There could be a number of prospects in this spot in the honorable mentions simply because there are a significant amount of top California players in the 2025 in attendance, including other Mater Dei standouts. I picked McDonald simply with his ranking being in the top-150 in his class. Yet another defensive recruit, which just shows the theme of this recruiting weekend. USC leads in the On3 RPM for the Mater Dei cornerback.
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