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Recruiting: Jalen Grimble Commits to USC

Jalen is cousins with incoming freshman Xavier Grimble.  He's currently rated as one of the top defensive linemen in the West by the recruiting services and has picked up offers from major programs like Alabama, LSU, Miami, Michigan, and Nebraska.

I'm not the biggest fan of Jalen, but this is an important pick-up from a depth standpoint at the strongside DE spot with Armond Armstead being a senior and Wes Horton a RS-Junior in 2011.  Hard to argue with his potential if Ed O and Nick Saban are recruiting him.  Those two are the best in the business when it comes to evaluating defensive talent.

The coaching staff will now probably focus on getting some pass rushers on the other end.  Their top target is Greg Townsend Jr. who would be a great pick-up. He recently stated that SC is his top school.  Another name that has been in the mix is Todd Barr out of Lakewood but he's still waiting on an official offer.  Barr could end up projecting on both sides of the line so it's definitely not out of the question that SC can end up with Jalen, Greg, and Todd by the end of the year. That would be a great d-line class.

Xavier and Jalen Grimble Pushing Each Other to Next Level

From LasVegasSun.com:

Xavier Grimble was a starter as a sophomore on Gorman’s state championship team in 2007, and he caught 13 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns last fall.

He was a first-team All-Sunset Region selection and had offers from the likes of Florida and Oklahoma before committing with USC.

Playing possibly their last season together next fall, the cousins say they will cherish each day together. Their careers have featured many high points, but a state championship this season would carry extra significance.

“We have been playing football together since we were knee-high, so winning a state championship would be like a dream,” Xavier Grimble said. “It’s fun and nice to see (Jalen) grow and mature.”

Article adds to the belief that the two are essentially a package deal.

USC Rising Stars Camp Day One: Jesse Scroggins Gets Offer

From WeAreSC.com:

The biggest names in attendance during the morning session were Ronald Powell, Jackson Jeffcoat, Jesse Scroggins, Dion Bailey, Dietrich Riley, Tony Jefferson, Ricky Heimuli, Dak Smith, Dontae Williams, Dillon Baxter, Trajuan Briggs, George Uko, Tyler Bray, Chase Rettig, Anthony Jefferson, Joshua Shaw, DeMarco Cobbs, Shaquille Richardson, Troy Niklas, Dak Smith, Anthony Brown, D.J. Morgan (did not participate), Justin Maclin, Josh Harper, Greg Townsend Jr., Victor Burnett, Tevin McDonald, Victor Blackwell, Jalen Grimble Tehvyn Brantley, Nick Rowland and Christian Westerman.

Prospects slotted to attend, although noticeably absent Wednesday morning, included Robert Woods (who did stop by), George Farmer, Lache Seastrunk, Erik Kohler, Trovon Reed, Cassius Marsh, Toney Hurd Jr., Demetrius Wright, Hayes Pullard, Giovanni DiPoala, Antwuan Woods, Soma Vainuka, Devon Blackmon, Marquis Flowers, Owamagbe Odighazuwa and Chris Martin.

Very disappointed to hear that Demetrius Wright and Sean Parker weren't at the camp.  Both have gone on record saying they would attend RSC, but maybe they'll show up for the other days.  Apart from Demetrius and Sean, it's good to see that all the key recruits were present.  Lache, Trovon Reed, and Chris Martin are all long shots at this point, so I'm not very disappointed to see their absence.

The biggest news coming out of today's camp is Jesse Scroggins picking up his long-awaited offer.  UT (Vols) has been recruiting Jesse heavily and made up a ton of ground.  With Mitch Mustain seemingly checked out after losing the Spring QB battle, it makes a lot more sense for us to pick up a QB in this class.  Jesse isn't spectacular, no one in this QB class is, but has a lot of upside that can develop in the right system.  He definitely needs to work on his mechanics, but he has the tools to succeed.

In other news, George Uko, a raw but high upside DT out of Chino also picked up an offer.  As much as I think Robert Woods is overhyped, I'm disappointed to see he didn't participate.  A surprise player that I really didn't know SC was recruiting much was Dontae Williams, the RB out of Texas.  From the reports I've read, many say he was one of the more impressive guys on day one.

Moving forward, SC absolutely needs to take a hold of Tony Jefferson this week who I think is straight beast mode, Dietrich Riley another elite prospect with great versatility, and Ronald Powell with all the recent Florida talk. It would also be great to see SC close on guys like George Uko, and Dion Bailey who are the non-attention-grabbing-but-solid-players that really fill out classes.  Another guy to keep an eye on is Shaquille Richardson who's a nice system guy.

There'll be more updates to come so stay tuned.