BREAKING: Five-star all-purpose back Raleek Brown commits to USC
The latest biggest news of the week for USC football and its fans came as no surprise Thursday afternoon.
The dominos had been tumbling one after another ...
First, USC stole head coach Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma on Sunday. The next night, after his introductory press conference with the Trojans, Riley and new WRs coach Dennis Simmons were on an in-home visit with five-star Mater Dei HS running back Raleek Brown and his family. Then on Wednesday evening, Brown formally de-committed from Oklahoma and soon thereafter tweeted that he would announce a new commitment decision Thursday.
As expected, that news is that Brown is ready to be a Trojan.
"Coach Riley, he's a good coach, and it's a good place to be in L.A., so that was an automatic," Brown said. "It's very exciting because to stay home, we've got a lot of family that can come up to every game at home almost, so it's very excited and I can't wait to play."
RELATED: Watch our in-depth video interview with Brown about his USC decision
So to put all of this in perspective, USC hired a five-star coach Sunday, landed a commitment from five-star 2023 QB Malachi Nelson on Tuesday and a commitment from a five-star playmaker with no parallel in the 2022 class here today.
Brown, the Mater Dei High School star, ranks as the No. 1 all-purpose back, No. 2 in-state prospect and No. 21 overall prospect in this class.
Listed at 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, he lightning-fast and a matchup nightmare for anyone tasked with covering him downfield.
He is a running back, a slot weapon, a downfield threat -- basically an offensive coordinator's dream.
Brown rushed for 1,062 yards on 8.0 yards per carry with 12 touchdowns over 10 games this season, per MaxPreps, along with 12 catches for 107 yards.
Mater Dei didn't necessarily need to exploit Brown as a receiver more than that, but his upside in the passing game is immense.
"He just spreads the ball out and he runs and passes and he puts the backs in the outside, inside slot, he put them anywhere, just get the ball in your hands in space," Brown said of Riley's offense.
It's no coincidence that just hours after his introductory news conference at USC on Monday, Riley's first recruiting priority was to visit Brown, who had committed to him at Oklahoma back on Feb. 5.
USC never gave up trying to sway Brown to stay home, hosting him and his family on campus twice in June. But the coaching instability and questions about the offense and the future were too much to overcome.
There are no such doubts any longer -- only unbridled optimism for USC football with Riley in charge after a 55-10 run over his five seasons at Oklahoma.
"[My family] was excited, they was happy. They wanted me to go [to USC] at first, but it was my decision so they support me whatever decision I make so it was very exciting," Brown said.
USC started the week with four commits reopening their recruitments -- surely none coming as surprises or setbacks to Riley -- in four star cornerbacks Ephesians Prysock and Jaeden Gould and three-star wide receivers Kevin Green Jr. and Caleb Douglas.
That left USC with just four commits in three-star defensive end Devan Thompkins (Stockton, Calif.), four-star cornerback Fabian Ross (Las Vegas, Nev.), three-star offensive lineman Keith Olson (Napavine, Wash.) and two-star punter Atticus Bertrams (Australia).
But the expectation is that Riley will bring in a wave of commitments over these final two weeks before the Dec. 15 early signing period.
Brown is a momentous start to that process.