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Recruiting: Update on the 2010 USC Recruiting Class

Quick updates on our current commitments:

• Dillon Baxter, RB
  Status:  Soft Verbal
  Prediction:  USC
  
  Dillon took the news of Pete leaving hard and has been looking around. He's scheduled to take an official visit to Oregon this weekend and Florida the following.  Chip Kelly is selling Dillon on being the next running QB in the Oregon spread offense; Urban is selling Dillon on being an all-everything back/receiver.
  
  In the end, I think Dillon stays committed to SC, although I'm not as confident about it as before. Right now SC has the advantage in that the competing schools are far from home and run a very different system from SC.  The cohesiveness of the current class should help, especially with kids like Kyle Prater and Robert Woods constantly in his ear.  I think a solid visit from the coaches will seal this recruitment.

• Robert Woods, WR
  Status:  Solid Verbal
  Prediction:  USC
  
  Robert didn't seem phased at all by Pete's departure.  Robert and his dad are set on SC, and with Damian headed to the draft, Woods has a solid shot to earn PT as a freshman.  My knock on him has always been his route-running, but watching him at the Army All-American game/practices, I was very impressed with how much he's tightened up his routes.

• Kyle Prater, WR
  Status:  Solid Verbal (Early Enrollee)
  Prediction:  USC
  
  After a shaky weekend, Kyle solidified his recruitment with the hiring of CLK and will enroll in classes on Monday.  It's always made sense for Kyle to come to SC due to our pro system.  Kyle needs to be in a pro-set to fully utilize his size and talents as a possession receiver.

Anthony Brown, RB/CB out of Kaiser, Commits to USC

From SCPlaybook.com:

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound athlete showed his competitiveness at the USC Skills Camp, when he switched from playing tailback to defensive back, and was the top performer on the defensive side of the ball.

“It started at the Skills Camp where I did pretty good,” Brown said. “BC told me to come back to the Rising Stars Camp and I came with the same mindset. I just went out there and performed really well.”

At the Rising Stars Camp, Brown shined against some of the top wide receivers in the country and earned a scholarship offer from Pete Carroll with his play and work ethic.

“USC recruits the best and for me to get offered from them is an honor, so I just took it and ran with it,” Brown said.

After taking a few weeks to think things over with his family, Brown decided the USC offer was just too good to pass up and let the coaches know on Thursday that he wanted to be a Trojan.

“I emailed Brennan (Carroll) and told him that I had made up my mind. He told me to call him, so I did and told him that I was in.

Very solid pick-up.  It's interesting because previous to the Rising Stars camp, Anthony looked nothing more than a high-major running back.  Since his switch to cornerback at the camp, he looks like an entirely different prospect.  I definitely think he's flying under the radar on the defensive side of the ball.

As mentioned in the article above, the coaches currently have him pegged as an athlete with him competing for special teams early on and then possibly RB or CB; I believe his future lies at the corner position with his speed and physicality. He can definitely jam receivers off the line and he has solid recovery speed.

Another aspect to consider in this commitment is the recruitment of Anthony's teammate Josh Shirley who is a hybrid DE/LB prospect.  It will be interesting to see how Anthony's commitment will influence Josh.  I personally don't think it'll be that much, but still something worth noting.