Recruiting Rumblings: Donte Williams already making an impression for USC

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Just two days after being hired by USC as its cornerbacks coach and new ace recruiter, former top Oregon assistant Donte Williams is already making waves on the recruiting trail for the Trojans.

USC, led by Williams, doled out a handful of new offers Wednesday while making it clear the program is going to be aggressive in pursuing the top prospects nationally in this 2021 class.

But the biggest news of the day came from one of Williams' former commits at Oregon, as 4-star 2021 athlete Anthony Beavers (Narbonne High School) announced he was re-opening his recruitment. Beavers, a top defensive back target of the Trojans already, had been committed to the Ducks since April.

Beavers, who is ranked a top-200 overall prospect, told TrojanSports.com two weeks ago that he was already hearing from the USC staff regularly and had received a call from new defensive coordinator Todd Orlando soon after he was hired.

"Don't let the outsiders come in our hood and take our recruits," Beavers said of Orlando's message then. "And he's going to be reaching out, so just see where this goes. … The appeal is it's close to home, it's a weather that I know -- it's a big comfortability level at 'SC. [I just want] to see like how things go at 'SC, I know they've got some big challenges this year, [playing] Alabama. It's like a family school -- I have a lot of friends who go there."

From head coach Clay Helton to Orlando and throughout the staff, the Trojans' overriding recruiting pitch to the 2021 and 2022 prospects has been to keep the top local talent at home. USC signed just one of the top 25 in-state players in the 2020 class and has been losing its grip on Southern California recruiting over the last couple years.

That's why Williams' hiring was so significant. He is from Los Angeles and was recruiting the area aggressively for Oregon, beating USC for commitments from prospects like Beavers. Now he's helping their cause and there is great anticipation for what other dominos could be set to tumble in the Trojans' favor.

Beavers has no shortage of suitors so USC still has plenty of work to do with the local standout, but it's certainly a telling sign that Williams' arrival at USC has already had tangible effects.

Meanwhile, he and the Trojans also showed with their new offers Wednesday that they plan to go after the top prospects nationally.

Williams landed a pair of 4-star defensive backs to Oregon in the 2020 class from far away, signing Dontae Manning (Raytown, Mo.) and Luke Hill (Baltimore, Md.), along with in-state 4-star DB Bennett Williams (San Mateo, Calif.) and 3-star Jared Greenfield (Narbonne HS).

So he's proven he can reel in top talent at the position from anywhere, and the new round of offers Wednesday shows he's hoping to do the same this year at USC.

5-star cornerback Tony Grimes (Virginia Beach, Va.)

-The No. 1-ranked cornerback and No. 13 overall prospect in the 2021 class has more than three dozne offers.

4-star cornerback Avante Dickerson (Omaha, Neb.)

-Dickerson is the No. 14 cornerback in this 2021 class and has 14 offers.

4-star cornerback Nyland Green (Covington, Ga.)

-Green is the No. 13 cornerback in this class and has 21 offers.

Athlete Ga'Quincy McKinstry (Pinson, Ala.)

-McKinstry, who is a CB and WR, is the No. 2-ranked ATH and No. 46 overall prospect in the 2021 class. He has more than 20 offers.

Cornerback Kevin Coleman Jr. (St. Louis, Mo.)

-Coleman is a big-time 2022 prospect who already has 14 offers.

4-star running back TreVeyon Henderson (Hopewell, Va.)

-Henderson is the No. 3 RB and No. 65 overall prospect in the 2021 class and has 37 offers.

4-star tight end Michael Trigg (Seffner, Fla.)

-Trigg holds more than 40 offers and is ranked the No. 11 TE in the 2021 class.

3-star offensive lineman Ryan Lange (Pittsburg, Calif.)

-Lange has four offers so far, including fellow Pac-12 programs Washington State and Arizona State.

2022 QB Justyn Martin (Inglewood, Calif.)

-Martin has five offers so far, including fellow Pac-12 programs Colorado and Arizona State.