TrojanNYC.com

USC Commitment: Centennial QB Cody Kessler Commits to USC

Another big pick-up by the coaching staff.  Cody is one of the top ranked pro-style QBs in the nation this year.  He was also considered the top performer at the recent Elite 11 QB camp in Berkeley.

I mentioned in a previous post, that bringing on Cody seems to signal that the coaching staff is looking to stockpile QB talent to make up for the lack of slam dunk elite QB recruits in recent years.  As good as Cody is, plus Max Wittek and Jesse Scroggins for that matter, none of them are on the level of Mark Sanchez or Matt Barkley coming out of HS.  Better to bring in a lot of guys and have them build each other up through competition.

The more I watch Cody, the more intriguing he is as a prospect.  He doesn't have prototypical NFL height (he's only 6'1/6'2) and his mechanics are a bit sloppy but he's built solid, has good mobility, and throws with excellent accuracy (biggest selling point of his game).  One of the marks of a good QB is the ability to adjust velocity without sacrificing accuracy on throws and Cody does this well.  He's also good on the move.  His biggest flaw at this point is that he comes from a shotgun offense, so he'll have to adjust to taking snaps from under center.

In terms of a comparison, he reminds me of former Cal QB Aaron Rodgers.  Cody has similar mechanics to Aaron in college (he's since cleaned up in the pros), they're similar in size, work well in the short-to-mid passing game, and can buy some time with their feet while throwing on the run.

Again, great pick-up by the staff.  Cody has a real solid shot at being the successor to Matt Barkley.  Should be fun to watch his development.

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.

Lakewood QB Jesse Scroggins Commits to USC

From WeAreSC.com:

Jesse Scroggins' commitment to USC puts the quarterback prospect in a situation that is ideal to his development as a top-flight passer.

The Lakewood (Calif.) product should redshirt his freshman season for the Trojans, which will give him the opportunity to become a true student of the game and learn the ins and outs of USC's systems.

From a system stand point, Scroggins fits what the Trojans do really well. He's a pocket guys with enough athleticism to get himself out of trouble the way Mark Sanchez did. He has the arm to make every throw necessary at the collegiate level; Scroggins is more than capable of making the plays to receivers down the field that the Trojans' offense requires.

Been out last week so late on this one.  Another nice pick-up, Jesse brings much needed depth at the QB position next season.  Extreme circumstances aside, Jesse will redshirt his 1st year to develop his game and put separation between him and Barkley.  He's got the pro-level arm and the raw talent, but he needs to clean up his mechanics and develop better consistency.

Now that Jesse and Dion are both committed, there will be a strong push for Robert Woods, their childhood friend, to complete the trifecta.  SC will be hard on Robert since we need a go-to receiver in this class.  I've said in the past that I think Robert is a bit overhyped (not sure he deserves to be a top 10 player overall which many people believe he'll become by end of year), but as it stands now, he is head and shoulders above any available receivers out there in terms of skills and actual interest.  It makes a lot of sense for Robert to come to SC with the depth situation and makes a ton more sense for SC to recruit him hard with guys like Markeith Ambles and Chris Dunkley (never was really in the picture) out of the picture.

It'll also be interesting to see how this affects the recruitment of Robert's teammate, George Farmer (2011), down the road.  Lot of people think Farmer will be one of the best receivers out of CA in the past decade.  SC has offered early and there are rumors going around saying Farmer is a lean.

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.