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BREAKING: USC lands commitment from five-star 2023 QB Malachi Nelson

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New USC coach Lincoln Riley needed just two days to land his first five-star commitment, as 2023 quarterback Malachi Nelson announced his USC pledge Tuesday afternoon.

Nelson, the No. 2-ranked pro-style QB and No. 4 overall national prospect in the 2023 class, out of Los Alamitos High School, had long been a top target for the Trojans, but he committed Riley at Oklahoma last July.

It's no surprise that just two days after Riley made the move from OU to USC and Nelson de-committed from the Sooners, that he now reattaches to Riley while choosing to stay home in Los Angeles.

Nelson completed 61.8-percent of his passes for 2,690, 39 touchdowns and 9 interceptions this season while leading Los Alamitos to a 9-2 record.

Nelson had said last spring that USC was at one point the favorite in his recruitment, but his family felt misled when the Trojans offered a second QB in the 2023 class -- Warren HS's Nico Iamaleava -- after telling Nelson and his parents that he would be the only '23 QB the program offered.

That helped steer him to Oklahoma, but so too did Riley's elite offenses and history with QBs, as he coached back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners with Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and a Heisman runner-up in Jalen Hurts while with the Sooners.

USC recently lost the commitment of 2022 four-star QB Devin Brown (Draper, Utah), and it will only be tougher now to land a QB in this class with freshman Jaxson Dart likely set up to be the starting QB next season -- depending on what decision junior QB Kedon Slovis makes after having to split time with Dart down the stretch of this season before missing the last two games with injury -- and Nelson waiting in the wings in the next recruiting class.

USC also has talented four-star freshman Miller Moss on the depth chart.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Nelson's Los Alamitos teammates, four-star WRs Makai Lemon and Deandre Moore. Both have been USC targets and Lemon announced his decommitment from Oklahoma on Tuesday, while Moore remains committed at present.

Check back for more coverage of Riley's first major commitment at USC.

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