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USC Commitment: Crenshaw OL Marcus Martin Commits to USC

The momentum in recruiting continues on even with all the sanction news.  This is a BIG commitment, both literally and figuratively, for us since we need to stack up on offensive guards.  No question Marcus has the size (6'3 350lbs) but his biggest sell is his great feet; he has all the makings of being an elite guard at the next level.

This also has an impact in terms of current commitments; Marcus is teammates with DeAnthony Thomas (DeAnthony is close with Victor Blackwell and Max Wittek) and friends with Antwaun Woods.  This only solidifies the class and keeps the bonds stronger.  Obviously there's no guarantee that these commitments stick, but this is one tight core and we all know how important that was when Pete left; the core of Demetrius Wright, Robert Woods, Kyle Prater, D.J. Morgan, and Randall Telfer held the 2010 class together.

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.

Recruiting: D.J. Morgan Suffers Torn ACL Injury in Playoff Game

 

From LATimes.com:

Morgan was injured Thursday night during Taft's City Section Division I first-round playoff victory over Garfield. He had an MRI exam Friday night, but it wasn't until today that he received a definitive answer about the ACL injury. Kerstetter did not know if Morgan would be able to return for track season in the spring.

Morgan is the No. 1 hurdler in the world for his age group at 110 meters. This summer in Italy, he won the 110 hurdles at the World Youth Championships. This spring, he won the state championship in the same event. He also has rushed for nearly 4,800 yards in his four-year football career at Taft.

Tough break for D.J.

Rumor: D.J. Morgan Looking to ASU to Play With Brother?

D.J. took an unofficial visit to ASU yesterday and the rumor is that he is interested in joining up with his brother Josh, who played at Pasadena City College last year, as part of a package deal to play in Tempe. This is obviously very surprising news for SC fans since D.J. has been a firm commit to USC for a while now.

Personally, I don't think there is much to worry about here.  The way I see it is, if ASU bites at the bait and decides to go after D.J. via Josh, assuming the two would even follow through with commitments, SC could counter-offer and close the door on the situation.  That sounds arrogant, but anyone that has followed D.J. knows he is a big-time SC fan; he and Dillon Baxter have served as the D.J. Shoemate/Chris Galippo type recruiting coordinators for the class.  There's a reason why no major school has seriously tried to sway D.J. elsewhere; they know D.J. is a lock to SC.

Thoughts on the Initial 2010 ESPNU 150 Ranking

From ESPN.com:

01.  Jackson Jeffcoast, DE
03.  Ronald Powell, DE
04.  Seantrel Henderson, OT
09.  Tony Jefferson, LB
17.  DeMarco Cobbs, WR
20.  Lache Seastrunk, RB
22.  Robert Woods, WR
24.  Sean Parker, S
28.  Xavier Grimble, TE
35.  D.J. Morgan, RB
42.  Joshua Shaw, CB
43.  Kyle Prater, WR
57.  Jesse Scroggins, QB
61.  Anthony Barr, RB
63.  Demetrius Wright, CB
68.  Khairi Fortt, LB
72.  Malcolm Jones, RB
111.  Dietrich Riley, RB/S
129.  Christian Thomas, TE
130.  George Uko, DT
138.  Dillon Baxter, RB/WR
139.  Ricky Heimuli, DT
146.  Cecil Whiteside, LB

Pretty bad list overall but there are some great calls mixed in with a lot of horrible ones. Here's my breakdown:

Great Calls

• Chris Dunkley @ #13:  He's currently rated #74 on Rivals but deserves to be much higher.  He's a little too high at #13 player due to his size but he's definitely top 30 talent.
• Sean Parker @ #24:  Been one of my most talked about recruits despite him likely going to ND but he's ranked #85 in Rivals and deserves to be top 30.

Good Calls

• Demetrius Wright @ #63:  Much better than #115 in Rivals.
• Malcolm Jones @ #72:  Who's been saying Malcolm is not even close to a top 20 player and should be out of the top 50 since March/April?
• D.J. Morgan @ #35:  I'm going to go bearish on the current USC commit and say D.J. dropping from #20 in Rivals to #35 in ESPN is a good call.  I actually think D.J. should drop a little further. He's a dynamic player but not good enough in any single area to deserve a top 25 ranking.
• Kyle Prater @ #43:  He's the top receiver on Rivals at #4 which I believe is way too high.
• Ronald Powell @ #3:  Top 3 is slightly high but the guy is a freak and can play both offense and defense.  Definitely a top 10 player.

Bad Calls

• Tony Jefferson @ #9:  I'm a BIG fan of Tony but there is no way he's a top 10 player overall.  Based on his tweener status alone he shouldn't be close to top 15.  He fits nice at #30-45 range.
• Lache Seastrunk @ #20:  Lache is absolutely a top 10 player.
• Trovon Reed @ #45:  Trovon is a top 3 receiver in this class.
• Anthony Barr @ #61:  Deserves to be ranked higher despite being too big for his position.
• Khairi Fortt @ #68:  Khairi is a top 35 player.

Horrible Calls

• Dillon Baxter @ #138:  Very bad call.  Dillon's stood out at elite camps all summer. He's an absolute top 50 player.
• DeMarco Cobbs @ #17:  The worst pick in this entire ranking.  DeMarco is way too raw to be top 20.  Almost laughable.
• Dietrich Riley @ #111:  Both Rivals and ESPN are completely snoozing on this one.
  
• Chris Martin @ #144:  Have to defend a damn Irish player here - #144?!
• George Uko @ #130:  George should be no lower than top 75.

Definitely not an exhaustive list by any means but those are my thoughts based off a handful of glances.  Leave your thoughts.

Video: Loyola RB Anthony Barr Junior Highlights

Find more videos like this on PrepTicket

I'm going to make the admission: I think Anthony Barr is the best offensive player in the state of CA for 2010.  It's an admission because the kid is considered a major ND lean.  Since last season, I've considered Anthony the top power back in the state over Malcolm Jones, who many considered to be at the top of the list, but now I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's the top offensive player.  Rivals is snoozing right now rating him a 4-star, although to their credit they did move him up to #20 in the latest ranking.

The immediate comparison that comes to mind is Adrian Peterson.  They both have the tall upright running style with the breakaway speed.  AD was obviously more dominant coming out of HS, but Anthony definitely has elite talent.  He's much more of a complete back at this point compared to D.J. Morgan (the top rated RB in CA) who is committed to SC.

New Rivals100: Ronald Powell Rated 5-Star; Demetrius Wright Enters Top 250

From Rivals.com:

12.  Ronald Powell - 5 Star
17.  Robert Woods - 4 Star
18.  D.J. Morgan - 4 Star
20.  Anthony Barr - 4 Star
24.  Xavier Grimble - 4 Star
27.  Dillon Baxter - 4 Star
32.  Malcolm Jones - 4 Star
38.  Markeith Ambles - 4 Star
41.  Brennan Clay - 4 Star
45.  Tony Jefferson - 4 Star
54.  Sean Parker - 4 Star
62.  Christian Thomas - 4 Star
70.  Jake Matthews - 4 Star
89.  Demarco Cobbs - 4 Star
102.  Demetrius Wright - 4 Star

Bold = Committed

Rivals just released their updated top 250 ranking.  Here are some thoughts:

- Ronald Powell moved up one spot and earned himself a 5th star, which I guess is deserved simply on his potential alone.

- Robert Woods moved into the top 20 which I don't understand.  Am I the only person that thinks there's too much hype behind this kid?  I personally think he's a fringe top 50 player.  Maybe I just don't see it.  To top it off, Woods moved up while Markeith Ambles dropped out of the top 30.  I'll take Ambles over Woods any day.

- Still not sold on current commit D.J. Morgan as a top 20 player.  No doubt he shows flashes of brilliance, but I don't know if he has the consistency.  Will have to wait and see.

- In the last ranking I commented on Malcolm Jones being too high at #11 so I definitely agree with him dropping down to #32.  He should be out of the top 50.

- Rivals keeps sleeping on Sean Parker, but I guess I can understand why since he's not a camp type of player and at this point that has the most weight.

- Demetrius Wright, who's been a hot name lately, finally moved into the top 250 debuting at #102.  Kid will continue to move up.  Hope SC plays this one hard.

- This year's QB class is BAD.

Rivals Releases First Top 100 Ranking for 2010

Rivals.com

Complete ranking is here.  The following are some names that have SC high on their list:

2.  Lache Seastrunk, RB (TX)

6.  Jackson Jeffcoat, DE (TX)

10.  Jeff Luc, LB (FL)

11.  Malcolm Jones, RB (CA)

13.  Ronald Powell, ATH (CA)

14.  Trovon Reed, WR (LA)

17.  D.J. Morgan, RB (CA)

23.  Markeith Ambles, WR (GA)

26.  Robert Woods, WR (CA)

28.  Dillon Baxter, WR (CA)

42.  Tony Jefferson, LB (CA)

49.  Sean Parker, DB (CA)

57.  Christian Thomas, TE (CA)

62.  Jake Matthews, OL (TX)

77.  Delvin Jones, DE (FL)

80.  DeMarco Cobbs, WR (OK)

92.  Pete Thomas, QB (CA)

Bold = Current Commits

Lot of speculation came out of the Army All-American bowl as to whether Lache Seastrunk favored us since he was wearing SC socks (picture above) during practices - in all likelihood, probably shouldn't put too much stock in it.

Malcolm Jones and D.J. Morgan are rated too high and Sean Parker too low IMO. The one player I wish showed more interest in SC is Lamarcus Joyner (#7 player in nation) - kid is absolutely ridiculous.

Photo of the Day: Dillon Baxter and D.J. Morgan Flippin' Out

More pictures over at SCPlaybook.com.

2009 USC Football Junior Day: Sean Parker Quotes, Malcolm Jones Offer, Cassius Marsh's Near Commitment, and More...

Some thoughts on USC's Junior Day:

• D.J. Morgan (above) and Dillon Baxter, both commits for 2010 class, are really making a concerted effort to try and recruit players to join the class.  Baxter, who's been very involved in the program, reminds me a lot of D.J. Shoemate who also committed early and was vocal early on.

• Cassius Marsh, DT from Oaks Christian, was ready to commit at Junior Day but refrained from doing so out of respect of his parents' advice to cool off and think things over.  Many still expect him to be a Trojan at some point.

• One of my favorite recruits of 2010, Sean Parker, took a break from the FBU camp over at the Coliseum to take in Junior Day.  Lot of schools are starting to pick up on Sean and he's getting a ton of offers.  The early word is he's looking to go to school out of state, but lately he's been open to staying local and is showing interest in SC.  He had this nice quote:

"Just being around the players and coaches on Saturday was incredible. They have so much energy and you get fired up being around them. They have a great football program and who wouldn't want to be a part of a team like that."

One of his best friends and former teammates is '09 commit, Byron Moore, so hopefully that'll provide some pull in bringing in Sean.