More Impactful, Winning or NIL Opportunities?
When Marcelles Williams announced his commitment to USC on June 4, he was the seventh verbal commit for the Trojans’ 2024 recruiting class. It was a huge get for Donte Williams and USC.
From June 2-4, Lincoln Riley and the Trojans hosted 12 official visitors. At one time, USC had seven commitments from that weekend, but Dakoda Fields and Manasse Itete have already flipped their pledges to other schools. Fields committed to Oregon and Itete to Florida St.
Four-Star Safety Jarvis Boatwright, 3-Star OL Hayden Treter, 4-Star TE Walter Matthews, 4-Star OLB Elijah Newby, 4-Star Edge Kameryn Fountain all committed within a few weeks of their June 2-4 USC official visits.
There were also three verbal commitments from the June 16-18 official visit weekend. Williams was the first to announce at the conclusion of his visit on Sunday June 18. Clearwater (FL) OL Jason Zandamela announced a few days later and Ryan Pellum announced his USC commitment on July 27.
On June 27 Riley and staff added commitments from Marquis Gallegos and Makai Saina. Those two were followed by Braylon Conley and Deyvid Palepale. The Trojans currently have 15 commits.
What’s the deal?
Obviously the topic of Itete and Fields decommitting is extremely hot topic, but so was USC missing on Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Dre’lon Miller, Tyanthony Smith, Peyton Woodyard, Marquise Lightfoot, Zabien Brown and others. Most of the momentum gained in June vanished by July. Thankfully for USC fans, the 2023 season begins in 15 days.
WeAreSC was at St. John Bosco Friday for a scrimmage versus Norco. We asked Marcelles Williams what he thought it’ll take for USC to keep more elite local targets like him at home?
“I mean, USC hasn’t really been what it’s supposed to be these past few years,” Williams said. “So, I think that plays a big part. Like me, I honestly didn’t really grow up with too many really good SC years. I never saw Reggie Bush really play, I just watched highlights. I was born in 2005.”
Just win baby, or NIL offers?
The feeling among most is USC desperately needs a strong showing defensively in 2023 to enhance the recruiting effort. Will a strong showing this season impact recruiting more than NIL offers? Is a more aggressive approach with NIL a bigger deal or more significant, than playing a really good football on Saturdays?
“I mean, at the end of the day, people want to be a part of a winning program,” said Williams. “I think that’s the biggest thing. Like, I feel like most people believe that they’re that guy. That they could get the money by just performing, I feel like that’s a big reason. Like me personally, NIL wasn’t really a big part of my decision.”
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