USC lands commitment from 2021 Maryland DE Colin Mobley
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As soon as defensive line coach Vic So'oto was hired by USC in February, away from Virginia, he went to work re-offering east coast prospects he had built relationships with during his time with the Cavaliers program.
The early returns have been encouraging with several of those targets reciprocating USC interest and naming the Trojans among their top contenders, but the first true domino to fall from those efforts came Friday as 2021 defensive end Colin Mobley (DeMatha High School/Hyattsville, Md.) announced his commitment to USC.
Mobley, who is rated a 3-star prospect and had more than two dozen offers nationally, is the second defensive line commit for USC in this class and the first since So'oto arrived, while reflecting the continued success of the Trojans' new defensive staff in general this recruiting cycle.
Overall, Mobley is USC's 12th commit in the 2021 class, which moved the Trojans to No. 3 in the Rivals rankings.
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Mobley emphasized the combination of strong academics and athletics at USC as key factor in his decision, along with his relationship with So'oto and head coach Clay Helton.
"I have a strong bond with coach So’oto as well as coach Helton," he told Rivals' Adam Friedman. "They talked about me having the opportunity to come in early and contribute while still receiving a degree that holds weight. ...
"Me and him (coach So’oto) can talk about anything. Whether it’s from a football standpoint or a life standpoint, I feel like I can relate to him. He always makes sure to check in with me and my family to make sure everyone’s doing well."
DeMatha HS football coach Bill McGregor, meanwhile, offered his insight into how the Trojans closed the deal with his standout defensive end despite the ongoing obstacles of this pandemic and the national shutdown on on-campus and off-campus recruiting visits.
"For somebody from the east coast going that far west, somebody's doing a great job recruiting," McGregor told TrojanSports.com. "I've spoken to coach [Clay] Helton on the phone, he called and wanted to get a little bit more about him and things like that. I spoke to the assistant coaches recruiting him. They were very, very diligent in terms of calling and making sure the did everything they had to do to sell USC. Whatever they did on that Zoom call -- they did a Zoom call with him, virtual, showing him the USC campus and the opportunities that you have with a USC degree -- that really sold he and his family.
"His mother fell in love with Southern Cal. Again, he has choices everywhere in the country. He probably has 25-30 offers right now, and I think that says a whole lot about the coaching staff at USC and Coach Helton, the head coach and the great job he's doing to get guys to go to USC."
USC signed three defensive linemen in the 2020 recruiting class, but the position group figures to see major turnover after next season with defensive tackles Jay Tufele and Marlon Tuipulotu likely bound for the NFL draft, key veteran rotation cog Brandon Pili entering his senior year and defensive ends Caleb Tremblay and Connor Murrphy also entering their final years of eligibility.
USC also holds a commitment from 4-star defensive tackle Jay Toia (Grace Brethren HS), who committed back in June of 2018.
As for this 2021 recruiting in general, though, the new defensive staff has been driving a lot of the momentum as USC's recent haul includes 4-star safeties Anthony Beavers, Calen Bullock and Xamarion Gordon, and 4-star ATH/LB Julien Simon.
Impressively, nine of the Trojans' 12 overall commitments have come since March 11.
Rounding out USC's 2021 commits overall are 4-star WR Quay Davis, 4-star QB Jake Garcia, 4-star OLB Ma'a Gaoteote, 4-star RB Brandon Campbell, and 3-star OL Maximus Gibbs and Mason Murphy.
Davis (No. 23 overall), Garcia (No. 25), Gaoteote (No. 93), Simon (No. 108), Bullock (No. 119), Campbell (No. 173), Beavers (No. 199) and Gordon (No. 228) are all ranked among the Rivals250.