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USC's recruiting momentum continued Wednesday as the Trojans landed their second commitment from an impact 2021 defensive back.
Anthony Beavers, a local 4-star ATH from Narbonne High School, announced his USC decision on his Instagram account and later tweeted out the news as well.
Beavers, who was committed to Oregon for 10 months before backing off that pledge in February, is ranked the No. 10 ATH and No. 171 overall prospect in this 2021 class.
USC recruited him as a safety, which gives the Trojans two safety commits in the last week and a half, following 3-star commit Xamarion Gordon's decision.
Overall, USC is up to seven commitments, including four Rivals250 prospects -- along with QB Jake Garcia (No. 23 nationally), OLB Ma'a Gaoteote (No. 92) and RB Brandon Campbell (No. 200) -- and five 4-star commits overall. For those keeping score, that's already more than twice as many 4-star prospects as the Trojans signed in the 2020 class.
Most encouraging, this is the fourth commitment since the suspension of on- and off-campus recruiting nationally, meaning the Trojans' recruiting efforts are surging despite the unusual obstacles in place.
RELATED: Commitment Analysis: Rivals analyst Adam Gorney gives his scouting report on Anthony Beavers
For Beavers, he said he's known for a few months this would be his decision and he let the USC staff know about two weeks ago.
"It's bigger than football -- a life decision, really," he told TrojanSports.com Wednesday. "... Power of the degree, the people you will rub elbows with at the school, things of that nature."
Beavers was being recruited aggressively by both new cornerbacks coach Donte Williams and safeties coach Craig Naivar. His de-commitment from Oregon followed very quickly after Williams left the Ducks to join the Trojans, and he commented then how significant a factor that move was for him.
"I would say Donte was kind of a big factor, especially with at Oregon both of my recruiters leaving. (Graduate assistant Tre Watson left Oregon for a full-time position at UNLV). [Williams and I] have a pretty good relationship. I've been knowing him since ninth grade. I believe that's when he offered me, in ninth grade -- we've been tight since then," Beavers said back in February. ...
"It's a bonus that Donte's at USC, but I believe even before Donte came to 'SC, 'SC still had a powerful staff with coach Craig Naivar, Todd Orlando, those guys from the University of Texas."
Orlando, USC's new defensive coordinator, had reached out to Beavers quickly after taking the job to reaffirm that he was a priority target for the Trojans. Williams' hiring soon thereafter truly made the Trojans a contender.
Speaking Wednesday, Beavers acknowledged the impact USC's new ace recruiter had on his decision.
"Pretty big. I have a good relationship with Donte and other guys on the staff, so that was pretty big, most definitely," he said.
There was so much USC buzz for Beavers over the last couple months that he apparently tried to misdirect people with a list of finalists on April 1 that didn't include USC. But his Trojans recruitment never wavered and now he's committed.
Defensive back is a priority for USC this cycle after it didn't sign any corners or safeties in 2020, so this is another big boost to the 2021 class.
Beavers,, who plans to be an early enrollee, said he has been told he'll play the "Joker" position in Orlando's defense and compared his expected role to the one DeShon Elliott played at Texas before becoming a sixth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2018. Elliott had 63 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions, 9 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks his last season with the Longhorns.
"[The role is] really just to make plays. I believe I can make plays. It's just a play-making position," Beavers said.
USC moved up from No. 13 to No. 9 in the Rivals recruiting rankings with his commitment, and there is significant buzz that more commits could be on the way soon.
Along with the four Rivals250 commits, USC also holds pledges from 4-star DT Jay Toia, 3-star OT Mason Murphy and Gordon.
"'There's more stuff coming. We're probably going to have like five more commits coming soon -- five, six more commits," Beavers said.
As for his decision, he noted that he called all the other schools recruiting him Wednesday morning to let them know. Some coaches said they understood and some said they would continue to recruit him. He said he'll probably take some of his official visits.
While he's had this USC decision in mind for a while, it's not so clear who the second choice was. He was asked that Wednesday.
"The runner-up, um, I don't know. It was a couple schools that I had interest in for sure," he said. "Most definitely had interest in UCLA -- UCLA was dope -- Michigan State, San Diego State. It was like a tie for second, but I'll say UCLA."
