Addison explains his change of heart

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On April 16, Rivals250 four-star athlete Bryan Addison released a top five on Twitter that didn't include USC.

It was a bit surprising. Prospects from Gardena Serra High School don't usually leave the Trojans off of their lists, especially so early. But Addison says there were plenty of reasons behind his decision.

"Me and my dad looked at the depth chart and was like why would I need to go against the eight safeties that they have when I could somewhere where people would need me a little more to play football," Addison told TrojanSports.com when asked why he dropped USC from consideration a month ago.

But if you search for Addison's Tweet today, you won't find it. That's because he changed his mind and is considering USC again.

"What changed my mind was I just looked at it for myself and I'm saying, I don't want to be the kid that messed up the SC-Serra tradition," Addison said. "It's going to have to end one day. So I'm not saying SC is out, SC is of course in there and SC is probably where I might end up playing."

The 6-foot-5 and 175-pounder also decided that he may have overreacted to the depth chart initially.

"I had to give USC another chance because even though they have a stacked depth chart, I feel like I'm better than those players," Addison said.

Some might believe this is all about appearances and that Addison is ready to commit somewhere else when the time comes. But this impressive recruit says that's not what he's thinking at all. He says the real reason behind his decision to re-open things was the calendar. There's a lot of time between now and National Signing Day and Addison isn't in a hurry.

"I just thought that the whole process was getting rushed," Addison said. "I needed to slow down. So I just decided to slow down the process and re-evaluate what I have."

So he's much more open to his options in May compared to where he was a month ago.

"I'm open to every school but basically I just added two schools to make a top seven," Addison said.

Addison's new top seven is Arizona State, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington. He plans to visit a few of those schools in the near future.

"I'm trying to get down to Washington and Oregon," Addison said. "Maybe USC and UCLA. Oregon will be at the Opening."

USC's Rising Stars Camp is a plan he has set. And since USC is recruiting Addison as an athlete, it'll be interesting to see how he's used in a camp setting. The Trojan coaching staff is using the old Adoree' Jackson line. This camp could verify if USC actually sees Addison as that type of player.

"They told me to come there and play on both sides of the ball," Addison said. "Of course they want me to redshirt as a freshman to get bigger. But after my sophomore year, they see me as being just a bigger Adoree' Jackson."

So could USC's efforts lead to another commitment from Gardena Serra HS in Addison? Maybe, maybe not. We likely won't know for months and months, although Addison acknowledges he might make a surprise commitment.

"I might make an unexpected decision," Addison said. "But the only time I'll make an unexpected decision is if I feel really comfortable with the school. If I feel completely comfortable with the school and feel like it's home, I'll commit. But if I don't, it's going to be during homecoming game or it's going to be during signing day in February."