June is set to be a big month for recruiting nationally with prospects able to finally take formal visits to campuses, and for USC the momentum actually started a day early as the Trojans received a commitment from 2022 wide receiver Kevin Green, Jr. on Monday.
Green, a 3-star prospect from nearby Bishop Alemany HS, has been high on USC's list for a while now. He had put out a top 5 in early May of USC, Cal, Stanford, Utah and Washington State, and ultimately he chose the Trojans over the Cougars.
Monday was his father's birthday and he just felt the time was right to announce his decision.
"First off, 'SC has always been my dream school since I was young. And then my whole family are 'SC fans. The last sweater that my auntie bought me before she passed was an 'SC sweater, so I just thought that was a sign. And then I talked to somebody from 'SC every day -- whether it's Donte, KC, Coach Clay, Armond or Gavin, I'm always talking to somebody. So I feel they've been most consistent," Green said.
"... I wanted to make my dad's birthday special this year, and I just felt like me and the coaches clicked and I plan on graduating early too so I just wanted to lock in my spot now."
Associate head coach/CBs coach Donte Williams was his lead recruiter, WRs coach Keary Colbert his secondary recruiter and, as he noted, head coach Clay Helton, director of HS relations Armond Hawkins Jr. and associate AD/director of player development Gavin Morris all involved as well.
The 5-foot-10, 155-pound playmaker projects as a logical slot weapon at the next level, although he worked both inside and outside at Bishop Alemany, where he overlapped with USC freshman QB Miller Moss and defensive back Jaylin Smith.
As a sophomore in 2019, Green compiled 81 receptions 1,076 yards and 8 TDs in 12 games (per MaxPreps), while playing with Moss. His stats from the shortened 2021 spring season are not posted.
"Going into high school I didn't think I was going to be anything like that -- I never thought I would be able to go to 'SC or none or that. And with Miller being my freshman year quarterback and sophomore quarterback, he pushed me to higher levels and he had standards for me that I didn't even know I could meet," Green said. "So being able to play in college with him again, that should be fun. I'm looking forward to that."
Green noted that his USC recruitment really intensified in March after a phone call with Williams, as the Trojans' ace recruiter took the lead from there.
"It kind of started because I was thinking about dropping top schools -- my first time dropping schools was my top 8, and at first 'SC wasn't going to be in it, and then Donte called me and he was just kind of strong," Green recalled. "... So Donte took over as my primary [recruiter] and KC took over as my secondary. They just brought the full-court press -- Clay, Gavin, Armond just started texting me every day ever since."
Green is the sixth overall commit in this 2022 class for the Trojans, joining 4-star QB Devin Brown (Queen Creek HS/Queen Creek, Ariz.), 5-star CB Domani Jackson (Mater Dei HS), 4-star CB Fabian Ross (Bishop Gorman HS/Las Vegas, Nev.), 4-star TE Keyan Burnett (Servite HS) and 3-star LB Ty Kana (Katy HS/Katy, Texas).
He is the Trojans first commit since Burnett in early March.
Green said he plans to visit USC on July 18, and he's also taking a trip to Washington State the previous weekend. No other visits are expected at this point.
"That's basically who it was coming down to," he said.
