USC Trojans

One of the top offensive line recruits in the state of California for the class of 2013 is expected to be John Lopez from Orange Lutheran (Calif.) High School.

Lopez (6-foot-5, 315 pounds) is a two-year starter at offensive guard for an Orange Lutheran team that plays in the tough Trinity League, so he has faced some quality competition in his career. Lopez received his first scholarship offer as a sophomore from then-UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel, and he has added recent offers from Florida State and Colorado as well. Lopez has already received interest from Washington, Nebraska and Wisconsin, with Alabama also making contact, and attended the recent junior day at USC.

Lopez was in attendance on Saturday at the Asante Trenchmen Academy camp at Santa Fe Springs (Calif.) St. Paul High School as he begins the all-important spring camp and combine circuit.

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Once again, Urban Meyer added a solid piece to Ohio State’s 2012 recruiting class at the expense of a Big Ten rival.

At an announcement at his school at 12:45 Wednesday, three-star Cleveland Heights offensive tackle Kyle Dodson flipped his commitment to Ohio State from Wisconsin. The Badgers were hardly a consideration as Dodson chose the Buckeyes over Michigan State and USC.

The offensive line, specifically tackle, was a major need for the Buckeyes going into the class, and Meyer added three linemen previously committed to other schools. Dodson joins ESPNU 150 guard Joey O’Connor (former Penn State commit) and Taylor Decker (Notre Dame).

The Buckeyes, ranked in the top 10 of the ESPNU class rankings, have 25 commitments after adding four-star Jamal Marcus and Dodson on signing day.

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It’s not too often that there are as many roster changes in one week in college football team as the USC Trojans saw last week.

There were five transfer departures confirmed in RB Amir Carlisle, WR Brice Butler, WR Kyle Prater, DB T.J. Bryant and DB Patrick Hall. There was also an incoming transfer announced with former Florida safety Josh Shaw, who enrolled at USC in time for the spring semester.

Carlisle was the biggest surprise of the group. There weren’t any previously known issues with Carlisle, and his future was thought to be bright within the USC offense. He was a shifty runner with good speed, excellent hands and a surprising amount of toughness in his running style.

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Cleveland Heights offensive tackle Kyle Dodson was firmly committed to Wisconsin for more than five months and was coming off his official visit to the Badgers when Ohio State forced Dodson to reconsider his options.

The Buckeyes named Urban Meyer its new coach on Nov. 28 -- one day after his official visit to Wisconsin ended -- and the three-star lineman is no longer 100 percent committed to the Badgers.

“I'm about 80 percent [committed to Wisconsin],” Dodson said.

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Will ASU or UCLA fill coaching vacancies?
We asked this exact question last week. Fast forward seven days and still neither school has named a new head coach. On Wednesday, it looked like a done deal that June Jones was headed to Arizona State. Reportedly, Jones even had his coaching staff pulled off the road and told to pack their bags for Tempe.

However, the deal fell through in the last hour and where the Sun Devils go from here is anybody’s guess.

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