Is USC a real contender for 2024 LB Tyanthony Smith?

USC will play host to Jasper (Tex.) four-star linebacker Tyanthony Smith this upcoming weekend for an official visit.

This visit will be Smith’s second to USC, his first coming March for a spring practice. The Trojans are the only program outside the states of Texas or Oklahoma that Smith is showing interest to.

So, for a small town East-Texas kid that’s only been to the west coast one time, is USC a real contender?

What are the chances Smith is a Trojan?

As of right now, where things stand, I would say USC is in a good spot to land Smith. And for the previous question, yes, USC is absolutely a real contender for his commitment. There is often times talk of players in different parts of the country ‘just taking a free visit’ to get to experience places they’ve never been before. That is not what Smith is doing here. He is treating the USC visit as more research on somewhere he can surely be living in just 6-7 months from now.

Texas A&M will be a tough beat in this recruitment, but they have already hosted Smith on his official visit so from here on out, it will be only unofficials if he returns to College Station. The Aggies are the closest team to him and he has grown up supporting the program. At one time early in his recruitment, it seemed Texas A&M was the easy choice for him. But Brian Odom and Lincoln Riley appear to be more than able to sway him from that.

His upcoming visit to Los Angeles could shape how his recruitment will play out. If the visit weekend is as successful as the first this month, I can see USC being deemed the favorite to land Smith.

Smith also has an official visit scheduled to Texas for June 20, but as of right now, personally believe the Longhorns are in third in this recruitment.

What Smith said about his previous USC visit

“Their academic program is off the charts, there’s really cool people and there’s also a beach lol. I didn’t know USC was a private school. They told me there’s only 20-30 people in classrooms and that was a really big deal.”

WeAreSC followed up with Smith at the Under Armour Next Camp in Dallas Sunday (3/12). Just to get more clarification on what’s standing out with the Trojans.

“With Lincoln Riley there, I trust what they got going on at USC,” he said. “They’ve built the offense and now they plan is to build the defense. Getting an opportunity to talk to Coach Riley was one of the biggest highlights of the visit. That and spending time with Coach Odom.”

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