THE ONE: My Top 2025 USC Linebacker Target
On September 12, I began releasing a list of my top 2025 USC targets at each position. While I’ve seen plenty of prospects I’d take who don’t own a scholarship offer from the Trojans, my list will only include those with current offers.
I’ll also limit my list to those I’ve seen in person, so this list will change throughout 2023 and into 2024. My guess is I’ll stop updating it at some point in July.
Now thru next Spring we will see a lot of young football players. We just saw several highly ranked 2025 DMV players last Friday when Mater Dei travels to Baltimore (MD) to face St. Frances Academy. Defensive Lineman Darrion Smith and Cornerback Blake Woodby are two of the SFA athletes with offers from the Trojans. Edge Brandon Thomas is another SFA player USC could likely offer at some point.
Although my list of prospects seen in person isn’t as lengthy as it’ll be in a few months, I’ve already seen a significant number of the elite 2025 prospects.
We started out with THE ONE running back, then Cornerback and last week we hit Wide Receiver. Typically we’d start with QB, but didn’t because I’m not sure Lincoln Riley’s targeting a 2025 QB prospect. Other than potentially Julian “JuJu” Lewis, should he decide to reclassify from 2026 to 2025. Which we could see happening.
Linebacker Noah Mikhail – Bonita HS (CA)
There are already two 2025 southern California Linebackers USC coach Brian Odom has identified as huge targets. Guys considered big-time impact players in college.
One of those is Noah Mikhail from Bonita HS in La Verne (CA). We’ll mention the other SoCal LB below, but Riley Pettijohn is another top priority. However, he’s from McKinney (TX) like 2024 RB commit Bryan Jackson.
Previous to his most recent visit in mid June, Mikhail was in attendance for spring ball and got an up-close look at this USC defense. He, like like everybody paying attention, said USC had something of “a rough year” defensively in 2022. But he saw the major steps forward this spring.
“They’re definitely picking it up in the right direction,” Mikhail said. “I’ve seen some of the spring and it’s definitely been a lot better. I think they have a good chance to be really good this year.”
Mikhail said all the players seemed to be more comfortable in the scheme this spring.
“They’re able to coach the players up better and learn the schemes better, which is ultimately helping them as a defense,” Mikhail said
As of early Fall 2023, we believe USC will at a minimum be among the top three schools for Mikhail barring some unforeseen collapse this season. In fact, we believe the Trojans may be the school to beat at this point, which is obviously still very early in the process.
Per On3’s Class of 2025 rankings, Mikhail is the No. 52 overall sophomore prospect in the country. He also checks in as the third-ranked linebacker and No. 8 player in California in his class.
Mikhail and his family visited USC July 28 for the 6am PT first practice. He was also at the
Mikhail Evaluation
Greg Biggins from 247 provided his early assessment of Mikhail.
“Mikhail has a nice all around game and shows the ability to play multiple positions at the next level. He has a linebacker frame and that’s where his upside is probably the highest but but play safety, wide receiver running back at the HS level. He’s an impact player on both sides of the ball and plays with a non-stop motor and has a nice edge in his game. At 6-3, 205 pounds, he already has a college body right now and isn’t even close to filling out or peaking physically. He runs well, shows natural football instincts and brings a nice physical element to the field. He’s already a national recruit and with his physical tools and off the field work ethic, is an easy player to bet on being an immediate impact player in college.“
I’ll just add this, since I’ve only seen Mikhail play 7v7. He’s an extremely impressive athlete who can cover like a talented Safety, but hit like you’d expect from a linebacker. Outside of his exceptional cover skills, Mikhail’s explosiveness and make up speed stand out as much as anything.
He’s a very fluid athlete who displays instincts of a player who spends a lot of time watching film. My guess is he has a very high football IQ and will be a like QB for a collegiate defensive coordinator.
Mikhail is also a very serious kid and takes his work in the classroom as serious as his work on the field. He owns a Stanford offer, so enough said on that end.
Four-Star LB Madden Faraimo – J Serra
As mentioned above, there are two California Linebackers from the class of 2025 USC is at the top of its recruiting board…the wish list. Noah Mikhail is one and J Serra LB Madden Faraimo is the other. Landing those two would be considered a jackpot for the Trojans. I have Mikhail at No. 1 and Faraimo No. 2, but it’s noteworthy to mention both, because Mikhail and Faraimo are Brian Odom’s Top priorities at LB for the class of 2025. At least from the West Coast.
WeAreSC hasn’t communicated much with Faraimo since transferring from Cathedral Catholic is San Diego, but we do know his interest in USC is high. He told us he plans to be at a game this season, so we’ll check in with him prior to he Arizona (10/7) and Utah (10/21) games.
The Skinny: Madden Faraimo‘s list of offers is up to 19 and will continue to grow throughout his junior and senior seasons. A few standout offers include USC, Ohio St., Oregon, Washington, Stanford, Utah, Colorado, Miami, Tennessee, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State and UCLA.
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