USC Trojans

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USC Trojans: Tennessee Volunteers

Heading into the spring, it was difficult to imagine any duo in the West region stealing the recruiting spotlight from Gardena (Calif.) Serra's Adoree' Jackson and Dwight Williams. And while the five-star cornerback and four-star linebacker still rank as two of the more highly-recruited players in the country, some of the buzz has shifted to another set of teammates in Southern California. You won't hear much complaining from Jackson and Williams, however, as they share a locker room with the new dynamic duo.

Outside linebacker John Houston and defensive end Rasheem Green -- stars of the 2015 recruiting class -- didn't step into the recruiting process this spring; they dove in. For both, it was outstanding performances at the Los Angeles Nike Camp that catapulted them onto the radars of college coaches. UCLA offered both shortly after the event and they have been on a roll since then.


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RB Mixon still open to everyone 

April, 30, 2013
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Holding more than 40 offers, running back Joe Mixon (Oakley, Calif./Freedom) is arguably the most sought-after recruit in the West region. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound, four-star back is the top running back in the West and the No. 135 player in the country. His offer sheet has seemingly grown by the minute this spring, but he isn't in any hurry to narrow it down.

Despite tweeting out a list of 16 programs several weeks ago, Mixon said Sunday that he only did that to highlight the schools recruiting him the hardest, not anything to be taken as a group of finalists.

"I'm still talking to a lot of people," Mixon said. "The recruiting thing has been crazy the past couple of weeks. I've pretty much been taking it well. I talk to them before school, during lunch and after school. I'm not to the stressful part yet, but the hard part has been staying in contact with everybody."


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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Clifton Garrett (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) had never been to the University of Alabama. He’d never even been in the state of Alabama. On Friday, the ESPN 150 linebacker made a stop in Tuscaloosa on his way to LSU for the Tigers’ spring game.


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#BlueChipBattles: ESPN 150 release edition

April, 19, 2013
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Speedy Noil, Adoree Jackson, Da'Shawn HandStudent Sports, ESPN, ESPNSpeedy Noil, Adoree Jackson and Da'Shawn Hand are three of the most coveted recruits in the Class of 2014.
#BlueChipBattles Insider: RecruitingNation summoned its writers from around the country to outline the recruiting battles for the ESPN 150's top 10 prospects.

Plus, rank the battles in SportsNation.

#TopFBMixtapes: Athlete mixtapes are all the rage in this highlight-crazed era of sports. We reached out to our Twitter followers to find out which 2014 football stars had the best highlight reels on YouTube, then had our staff rank and comment on the top submissions.

Tom Luginbill writes Insider: After talking to many coaches across the country and hearing their frustrations, here are their five biggest complaints about homemade highlight videos.
Basketball brought Thomas Holley (Brooklyn, N.Y./Abraham Lincoln) to California first. Football could bring him back.


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Coveted OLB names a top five 

March, 14, 2013
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ATHENS, Ga. -- Outside linebacker Jacob Pugh (Tallahassee, Fla./Godby) isn’t exactly sure of how many offers he has. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior has not counted them. Once he had received over 30 offers to the top programs in the nation, there really seemed no point in doing so. Pugh is more concerned about the five that he has on top.


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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- For a lot of recruits, it’s all about the process. They like to take all of their visits, add new scholarship offers and take their time when it comes to making a decision. It’s almost turned into a countdown to national signing day to see where they’re going to go.

That’s not the case with Shaun Dion Hamilton.

The ESPN Watch List linebacker has a good idea of where he wants to go, and he’s ready to make that decision so he can focus on winning a state championship at Montgomery (Ala.) Carver High School.


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ATHENS, Ga. -- Considering that running back Jacques Patrick (Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek) is only in his second year of high school but already has 25 scholarship offers, the case can be made that Patrick is one of the most coveted prospects in the Class of 2015.


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ATLANTA -- As a junior, Petera Wilson (Memphis, Tenn./White Station) had over 100 tackles, eight sacks, six passes broken up and two blocked punts. His double-digit list of offers reads like a who’s who of college football, with Florida State, Georgia and Ohio State being his most recent scholarship options.

The coveted linebacker gave his thoughts on the newest offers.


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INDIANAPOLIS -- If someone is going to break the Ohio State pipeline into Cleveland Glenville, then who else but the SEC to do it?

ESPN Watch List athlete Marshon Lattimore has an Ohio State offer and several teammates playing for the Buckeyes, but he said he does not have any favorites. Three programs he hopes to land an offer from are Alabama, Florida and LSU -- and one of them has been in touch.

“Alabama has been messaging me on Facebook,” the 2014 receiver/cornerback said.

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With more than two dozen offers, Jonathan Hilliman (Jersey City, N.J./St. Peter’s Prep) has the attention of schools all over the country. He knows some point over these next few months he will have to begin whittling his list down.


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Todd Kelly Jr. talks about latest visit 

February, 13, 2013
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Todd Kelly Jr. made his latest college visit a family affair.


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USC offers Watch List LB from Alabama 

February, 12, 2013
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USC has not been shy about its pursuit of some of the top 2014 prospects in the state of Alabama. The Trojans have already offered ESPN Watch List juniors Ronnie Clark, Justin Thornton and Tre Williams, and you can add another one to the list.


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Times are set for Brentwood duo 

January, 30, 2013
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Jalen Ramsey and Max Staver have set their signing times.

The two will sign with their respective schools on national signing day, Feb. 6, at 11 a.m. ET at Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy, according to a school official.

Ramsey has been committed to USC since July. However, he has taken official visits to Florida, Mississippi State, Washington and Florida State. Staver committed to Florida in June and hasn't wavered since.

Staver is the No. 264 overall prospect in the nation, the No. 5 prospect in Tennessee and the No. 19 pocket-passing quarterback in the country. Ramsey is the No. 14 prospect in the country, the No. 1 prospect in Tennessee and the No. 4 cornerback in the country.

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LSU commit Herron has lots of interest 

January, 10, 2013
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Frank Herron has seen strong interest from several schools hoping to test his commitment to LSU, which he made in June. The defensive end from Memphis (Tenn.) Central is listening, but it doesn't seem as though he's wavering.

Still, schools keep calling.


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