USC Offers Utah OL/DL Nuku Mafi, Upcoming Visit in the Works
Prior to Lincoln Riley arriving in late November 2021, the weakest links with the USC football program were its Offensive and Defensive Lines. There were very good players on both sides, but there wasn’t adequate depth to compete for a National Championship.
USC’s struggles on defense last year became the main focus of the offseason for a stretch for obvious reasons, but the offseason makeover performed by Shaun Nua was stunning.
Last year Shaun Nua and the Trojans pursued a large number of defensive line targets and ultimately signed Sam Greene from St. Francis Academy in Baltimore (MD)., Elijah Hughes from Washington DC Liberty HS and Deijon Laffitte from Colony HS in Ontario (CA).
Although all were three-star ranked prospects, Greene is slated to play significant reps this season after an extremely strong Spring at USC. It will be far more challenging for Hughes and Laffitte to crack the lineup with their enrollment still a month away, but both are impressive football players.
I would’ve offered Hughes after watching two reps at Liberty in August. Laffitte was actually pursued hard for a stretch by Alabama, but he was set on playing for the Trojans.
USC’s defensive line makeover
Roy Manning also added a few OLB/Edge to his room in Braylan Shelby from Friendswood (TX) and David Peevy from San Diego (CA) Lincoln HS.
We should add the Trojans also signed Texas A&M transfer Anthony Lucas, Arizona transfer Kyon Barrs and Jack Sullivan from Boston College this offseason.
If USC had the defensive roster they currently have, dare I say they Trojans would’ve likely been playing Georgia in the 2023 National Title Game? It’s absolutely a legitimate possibility that would’ve been the outcome.
Fans from other schools will read what I just wrote and chuckle, perhaps even laugh their ass off, but USC was a few plays away from the playoffs last season. And that was with the 100th ranked defense in college football.
Latest Offer from Shaun Nua and USC
The latest offer from Nua and USC was to 3-Star Utah OL/DL prospect Nuku Mafi (6-4, 285) from West HS. Although he only has 10 offers, he will undoubtedly be adding to that total between now and the end of Summer. Just take a quick glance at his footwork in the clip below.
We should note the Trojans are recruiting him as both an offensive and defensive lineman, like they were with Amos Talalele and Alani Noa early in the process.
Upcoming USC visit?
Often times kids from Utah have family in southern California and have visited USC and UCLA prior to earning offers, but Mafi has not visited either school yet. But he does plan to visit the Trojans and shared why.
“One reason I’m interested in USC and plan to visit is my education is so important,” said Mafi. “I love to see a school that can help me graduate. Another reason is that I can see this program develop me into something greater than than what my eyes could see.
“They want me at both OL and DL and main contact is Shaun Nua.”
June Nebraska official visit
Mafi told us he’ll be taking an Official Visit to Nebraska in June.
2022 Season Highlights
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