Commitment Analysis: What five-star DE Mykel Williams' pledge means for USC

USC stunned many recruiting observers and probably some other big-time programs Tuesday when five-star defensive end Mykel Williams, out of Columbus, Ga., announced his commitment to the Trojans over the likes of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, etc.

One of the top prospects in the southeast spurned the SEC for the west coast.

It's not hyperbole to say that this is a major statement-maker for USC that recruiting is fully back on track -- building on the resurgent 2021 class that finished No. 8 in the Rivals rankings.

In the last six and a half months, the Trojans have now signed five-star 2021 DE Korey Foreman (the No. 3 ranked national prospect) and landed commitments from 2022 five-star CB Domani Jackson (No. 10 overall) and Williams (No. 25).

Starting to sound like the Trojans of old?

RELATED: Mykel Williams and his father go in-depth on his USC commitment decision

Defensive line coach Vic So'oto deserves major credit here. He's grabbed the attention of many of the top-rated defensive line prospects in this 2022 class, and to land Williams is a domino that could have ripple effects the rest of this cycle.

As we always do, we break down USC's latest commitment from every angle, including an in-depth scouting report from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney, a look inside the film room and more.

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First, let's acknowledge the work the USC recruiting staff and coaching staff are doing on these official visits. We've been hearing buzz far exceeding that of recent years from prospects and their families after the visits the last two weeks, and Williams' commitment just two days after his official visit reinforces all of that.

In fact, read the comments from his father and see just how pivotal that presentation was to making this happen.

The overall resurgence of USC recruiting under the direction of Spencer Harris has been truly impressive the last two years, as USC has so quickly rallied from its 2020 recruiting nadir to re-establish the Trojans as a major draw for top prospects nationally.

We examined this extensively in our in-depth feature on Harris and the new vision for USC recruiting earlier this spring.

Few thought that turnaround could happen so dramatically and so quickly given where things sat just a year and a half ago when USC finished last in the Pac-12 and ranked tied for 71st in the 2020 Rivals recruiting rankings.

That seems so far in the past now.

Harris has been the coordinator of those efforts, installing a fresh vision for building a true personnel department, and the administration of athletic director Mike Bohn and senior associate AD Brandon Sosna has bought into that vision and supplied the resources to make it happen, doubling the size of the department and landing some major support staff additions like Bryan Carrington (from Texas) and Jeff Martin (from LSU) in addition to the rebuild of the coaching staff.

Ultimately, a majority share of the credit needs to go to the defensive staff that took over last year. Putting the pieces in place is one thing, but the staff still has to close the deal.

Everyone knows that associate head coach/cornerbacks coach Donte Williams is one of the top recruiters in the country, but safeties coach Craig Naivar has made a major impact and is probably significantly underrated nationally and So'oto is going to build himself into a well-known name as well if he can keep delivering results like this.

There's every reason to believe this momentum is sustainable and just starting, and we wouldn't be surprised to see some more dominos tumble later this week.

As for the impact on the field, USC is set to enter the 2022 season with two five-star defensive ends (so far) in Foreman and Williams, a burgeoning standout DE in Tuli Tuipulotu who has so vastly outperformed his own recruiting ranking heading into his sophomore season, a top-100-ranked prospect at linebacker in Raesjon Davis (plus other intriguing talent like four-star Julien Simon), a five-star cornerback in Domani Jackson along with a bevy of other high-end four-star defensive backs at safety, nickel and corner that have almost become too many to name here.

If this staff stays together, the talent is accumulating for USC's defense to be potentially elite in the coming years.

The Trojans need a boost at defensive tackle after losing promising freshman Jay Toia to the transfer portal, but there aren't many holes on the defensive depth chart when projecting into the very near future.

As for what it means for this recruiting class, well, USC can now sell other top defensive prospects on coming in and playing with three five-star talents (and numerous other top 250 national prospects).

One in particular to keep an eye on is four-star defensive tackle Christen Miller (Ellenwood, Ga.), the No. 119 overall prospect in this class who is a close friend of Williams and also took his official visit this past weekend.

In fact, going into the weekend it felt like Miller was the stronger lead of the two top Georgia defensive linemen. It's not a done deal by any means, as Ohio State and Georgia are top contenders, but it would not surprise at all to see Miller end up in this class too now.

"Me and Chris, we're definitely looking into going to the same college. [We're] a little package there," Williams said.

Overall, USC is ranked No. 15 in the 2022 recruiting rankings now, but that's with only seven commits so far. There is no ceiling on how high the Trojans can climb in those rankings before all is said and done.

Here's how the class looks so far:

-5-star DE Mykel Williams (Columbus, Ga.)

-5-star CB Domani Jackson (Mater Dei HS)

-4-star QB Devin Brown (Queen Creek, Ariz.)

-4-star TE Keyan Burnett (Servite HS)

-4-star CB Fabian Ross (Las Vegas, Nev.)

-3-star LB Ty Kana (Katy, Texas)

-3-star WR Kevin Green Jr. (Bishop Alemany HS)

Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney and national analyst Adam Friedman deliver their scouting reports on what USC is getting with Williams.