O/NSO: Coasting the commitment distance edition
The Obvious: Lincoln Riley is a thousand percent right when he says that Los Angeles is not for everybody regarding USC out-of-state recruits, but for those that embrace the big cardinal and gold stage, the big spotlight, the big celebrity, and the big-big, it’s an out-of-state player’s dream destination for prep players like offensive lineman Hayden Treter (cover photo above) from Englewood, Colorado.
The Not So Obvious: For local recruits that grow up in Los Angeles or the Southern California area in general, there’s nothing unusual, abnormal, or intimidating living and growing up in our area of the country. In fact, the beach, professional and college sports, and icons like Hollywood and Disneyland – not to mention celebrities – are a way of life. Did we forget to mention the wonderful, humid-less weather merged with the chill and kickback attitude of Southern Californians?
Out-of-state USC commits love the Southern California beach scene.
(Photo above by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The Obvious: In a unique way of looking at recruiting, Southern California prep superstars are taken back at the slow and stately lifestyles when visiting the likes of Notre Dame’s South Bend, Alabama’s Tuscaloosa, Michigan’s Ann Arbor, Georgia’s Athens, or LSU’s Baton Rouge. Ohio State’s Columbus and Texas’s Austin have a little more cosmopolitan and city feel, but none capture the overwhelming aura of Los Angeles and Southern California. Bottom line: Some SoCal prepsters like the pace of a college town, while others find it boring with nothing to do outside of a pleasant official recruiting trip.
The Not So Obvious: If you must, call the O/NSO way too biased towards L.A., but we’ve been to many of these aforementioned towns and hamlets, and it’s easy to see why an out-of-state recruit is either blown away by a positive USC visit or are completely intimidated or uncomfortable with the whole L.A. scene.
Some recruits embrace our City of Angels, coming from small towns and suburban communities, while some are totally uneasy with what L.A. offers and represents. That’s why Lincoln Riley and those previously successful USC head football coaches understand that when they sign an out-of-state recruit, they’re likely getting a player that embraces the whole L.A. experience besides what the Trojans’ football program has to offer.
When Lincoln Riley took the USC job, he knew exactly what out-of-state recruits wanted to see on recruiting visits.
(Photo above by Kevork Djansezian / Stringer PhotoG/Getty)
The Obvious: The Trojans got a class of 2024 commitment a while ago from Atlanta, Georgia, 4-star edge Kameryn Fountain and being 1,933 miles from home didn’t matter to him or his mother.
The Not So Obvious: Upon making his commitment, Fountain told WeAreSC, “It’s a beautiful place out in California.” For Fountain and his mom, it was California love at first sight.
Georgians Kameryn Fountain (left) and his mother (middle) loved their USC visit that quickly led to a commitment.
The Obvious: On Thursday evening, 4-star wide receiver Dre’lon Miller, whose Silsbee, Texas, home is 1,425 miles from Los Angeles, announced for nearby Texas A&M.
The Not So Obvious: Until a late unofficial visit to A&M a week ago to College Station, which is around 127 miles from Miller’s house, Dre’lon appeared all but wrapped up for the Trojans. In committing to Texas A&M, Miller said last week before his announcement, “A&M feels like home.”
The Obvious: Sometimes, an out-of-state player will orally commit to USC until they actually have to sign a letter of intent, and suddenly they have a come-to-Jesus reality moment that living in Los Angeles is much too much to handle and assimilate and sign with a school that has that small-town comfort zone.
The Not So Obvious: If anybody knows about small towns, comfort zones, and going for the big out-of-state challenge, it’s USC head coach Lincoln Riley, who was born in Lubbock, Texas, and grew up playing his high school ball in a little Texas town called Muleshoe whose population was last listed as approximately 5,090.
With his own small town, out-of-state personal journey, Riley today is the head football coach of the storied USC Trojans and lives in a hilltop $17.2-million-dollar home in affluent Palos Verdes Estates, which overlooks the gorgeous Pacific Ocean. If anybody can relate to out-of-state recruits coming to Los Angeles and sensing their vibes, the Trojans’ second-year head football coach knows about comfort zones and the overall ease of being in SoCal.
Trojans’ head coach Lincoln Riley knows all about small towns and out-of-state recruiting, having grown up in Muleshoe, Texas.
(Photo above by: Marica van der Meer/Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The Obvious: Prior to this week, the Trojans’ recruiting class of 2024 had 12 commitments, eight of those commitments coming from as far as the Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest regions of the country – not to also mention the Great Northwest and the Rocky Mountains regions.
The Not So Obvious: As of Friday morning, the Trojans had a total of 15 commitments, with nine from out-of-state. The six local commitments include this week’s commitments: 4-star wide receiver Ryan Pellum (Long Beach Millikan HS) and 4-star safety Marquis Gallegos (West Hills Chaminade).
As for the out-of-state prospects committing to USC this week, 3-star offensive lineman Makai Saina from Arlington, Texas/Martin HS, made his announcement on Tuesday evening. On Friday night, 3-star safety Braylon Conley (Humble, Texas/Atascocita HS) will announce his commitment, which many expect will be the Trojans.
Offensive lineman Makai Saina from Arlington, Texas, is the latest out-of-state commitment as of Thursday.
(Photo above by Sam Spiegelman/On3)
On Saturday, July 1, the Trojans are reportedly in a good position to get a commitment from two-way lineman Deyvid Palepale (Landisville, Pennsylvania/Hempfied HS), who, besides the Trojans, is reportedly considering Penn State and, to a lesser extent, Michigan.
On Saturday, two-way lineman Deyvid Palepale from Landisville, Pennsylvania, is expected to commit to USC.
(Photo above by EJ Holland/On3)
The Obvious: The reality of out-of-state recruiting and being successful at it has many variables.
The Not So Obvious: When analyzing a potential out-of-state recruit, does that recruit have any family members in the SoCal area? This aspect can’t be understated. Be it a dad or mom, aunt or uncle, or even a cousin can make all the difference in the world. Simply put: It’s family. As they say, blood is thicker than water. Hearing a recruit reference a family member in our area probably means the recruit has been here enough times to understand the environment. Whenever the O/NSO hears a recruit say, “We’ve got family in L.A.,” it catches our attention immediately.
The Obvious: For those that have traveled the country, it’s easy for local USC fans to somewhat dismiss that an out-of-state player is coming from a long way from home.
The Not So Obvious: Go back to when you were 17-years-old; how nervous were you leaving the comforts of home and separating from your family? Then again, maybe some of you couldn’t wait to get out of the house and be on your own. That being said, take a look at the mileage of current USC out-of-state commits from their hometowns to Los Angeles and realize it takes a big-boy decision to leave the nest.
The Obvious: For the record, the current out-of-state commitments are from center Jason Zamdamela and safety Jarvis Boatwright Jr. (Clearwater, Florida); tight end Walter Matthews (Hiram, Georgia); edge Kameryn Fountain (Atlanta, Georgia); tight end Joey Olsen (Lakeridge, Oregon); Elijah Newby (Cheshire, Connecticut); running back Bryan Jackson (McKinney, Texas); and offensive linemen Hayden Treter (Englewood, Colorado) and Makai Saina (Arlington, Texas).
The Not So Obvious: For you folks that are still curious about all these out-of-staters, here are the mileage numbers – highest to lowest – from their hometown areas to L.A.:
Elijah Newby: Cheshire, CT. to L.A. – 2502 mi.
** Deyvid Palepale: Landisville, PA to L.A. – 2324 mi.
Jacob Zamdamela/Jarvis Boatwright Jr.: Clearwater, FL to L.A – 2130 mi.
Kameryn Fountain: Atlanta, GA to L.A. – 1933 mi.
Walter Matthews: Hiram, GA to L.A. – 1911 mi.
* Braylon Conley: Humble, TX to L.A. – 1369 mi.
Bryan Jackson: McKinney, TX to L.A. – 1246 mi.
Makai Saina: Arlington, TX to L.A. – 1219 mi.
Hayden Treter: Englewood, CO to L.A.: 831 mi.
Joey Olsen: Lakeridge, OR to L.A.: 824 mi.
* Expected to commit to USC on Friday night, June 30.
** Expected to commit to USC on Saturday, July 1.
USC linebacker commit Elijah Newby from Cheshire, Connecticut , is currently the farthest away out-of-state commitment.
The Obvious: Most USC out-of-state recruits will probably travel from their locality to L.A. by airplane.
The Not So Obvious: If you are a current out-of-state USC commit, a non-stop flight from your local international airport to LAX is as follows:
Elijah Newby: Hartford, CT. to L.A. – 6h
Jacob Zamdamela/Jarvis Boatwright Jr.: Tampa, FL to L.A – 5h, 10m.
**Deyvid Palepale: Landisville, PA to L.A. – 5h, 10m.
Kameryn Fountain/Walter Matthews: Atlanta, GA to L.A. – 4h, 40m.
*Braylon Conley: Humble, TX to L.A. – 3h, 25m.
Bryan Jackson/ Makai Saina: DFW, TX to L.A. – 3h, 15m.
Hayden Treter: Denver, CO to L.A. – 2h, 30m.
Joey Olsen: Portland, OR to L.A. – 2h, 30m.
* Expected to commit to USC on Friday night, June 30.
** Expected to commit to USC on Saturday, July 1.
The Obvious: And finally, each recruit from out-of-state learns more about himself when confronted with actually making a commitment and later following through by signing a national letter of intent.
The Not So Obvious: For each out-of-state player that has committed to USC recently, they passed the first phase of breaking out of their security blanket. That’s not to say a player who really wants to play locally is afraid to leave home because the reality is once you leave, it really doesn’t matter if you live 10 minutes from home or six hours by plane. Once you’re out of the house, you’re out of the house. With all the 7-on-7 national tournaments and evaluation camps around the country, today’s players are far more experienced when it comes to leaving their home state and seeing other parts of the country.
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