Commitment Analysis: What landing five-star TE Duce Robinson means for USC
Five-star tight end Duce Robinson kept everyone guessing for an extra two months past National Signing Day, but the longer his recruitment played out the more it seemed to work in USC's favor.
On Thursday evening, Robinson made it official, picking the Trojans over Georgia, which is quite a statement for Lincoln Riley and his program considering the very high-profile success the Bulldogs have had with tight ends.
Robinson, the No. 1-ranked TE and No. 25 overall national prospect, was the last of the notable recruits from this past cycle to make his decision and provides a punctuation to the Trojans' 2023 recruiting class.
His addition moves USC from 11th to eighth in the final Rivals 2023 recruiting rankings, slipping past Oregon for the top spot in the Pac-12.
Robinson is the third five-star in the class for the Trojans -- the program's most since signing five five-stars in the 2018 class -- along with quarterback Malachi Nelson and wide receiver Zachariah Branch, who happened to play a major role in the final recruiting push to get Robinson on board. USC finishes with seven Rivals100 prospects and nine Rivals250 prospects.
Factoring in past recruiting classes and transfer additions, USC will have nine five-stars on its roster this year: QB Caleb Williams, RB MarShawn Lloyd, DE Korey Foreman, CB Domani Jackson, APB Raleek Brown, WR Mario Williams, QB Nelson, WR Branch and TE Robinson.
As for those last three, Nelson and Branch were in Hawaii with Robinson for the Polynesian Bowl high school all-star game in late January. They were by his side often during the practices that week, continuing the Trojans' recruiting pitch, talking to him about how he'd fit in the offense.
That seemed to be when the momentum started building for the Trojans.
Robinson had taken an official visit to USC last June, but the buzz was that Georgia had moved to the forefront in the ensuing months, which those familiar with Robinson's recruitment acknowledged.
"He said he definitely slipped away at one point, but he said [USC] definitely came back and he's definitely feeling it right now. So yeah, it's going good," Nelson said back in January at the Polynesian Bowl.
Then came Riley's in-home visit with Robinson soon thereafter, which may have been the tipping point in the Trojans' favor.
"He'll tell you that, this is coming from a reliable source, that Georgia was probably in the lead, but the last kind of home visit, coach Riley did his one home visit, he knocked it out. They were blown away," said Dana Zupke, Robinson's football coach at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona.
Still, the job wasn't done as Robinson pushed past his initial plans to sign with a school Feb. 1 and extended the process out these last two months.
But he had shared back then what USC's vision was for him and why it was so compelling.
"At USC, I would be working in multiple rooms, I would be able to play alongside some of the best receivers in this class, one of the best quarterbacks in this class and obviously first year the Heisman Trophy winner, so undoubtedly the best quarterback in college football," Robinson said. "So they would use me all over the field. ... And obviously, coach Riley's offense, it's an explosive offense, they're going to find ways to get their athletes the ball in space and let them run after the catch."
Yes, USC fans (not to mention Riley and staff) can now truly start envisioning having the elite speed of Branch, Brown and Mario Williams out there this fall giving defensive coordinators nightmares, along with the likes of Dorian Singer and Brenden Rice on the outside, while the extremely agile 6-foot-6 Robinson is still to be accounted for somewhere on the field, all being targeted by the reigning Heisman Trophy-winning QB Caleb Williams.
It's not unreasonable to think USC could be even more potent offensively in Riley second season after ranking third nationally in total offense (506.6 yards per game) last fall.
Thursday was indeed a major boost for the Trojans, who also happened to be thinnest at tight end of any position.
Riley was asked earlier this week how he felt about the tight end depth -- where Lake McRee is the only experienced TE active this spring, with veteran Jude Wolfe sidelined, Malcolm Epps now in the transfer portal and Carson Tabaracci transitioning to TE from LB. (Four-star 2023 signee Walker Lyons doesn't arrive until 2024 as he heads off on a LDS mission for the next year, and fellow 2023 signee Kade Eldridge arrives this summer).
"Right now, today? Not good," Riley said plainly, drawing laughs. "... It’s going to be good; it’s just currently at this moment right now, not very good."
He had specifically referenced getting Wolfe back for fall camp and Eldridge coming in, etc., but perhaps he was also confident about adding Robinson.
That said, Robinson isn't a typical tight end. His strength is clearly in his pass-catching ability and athleticism and, as he hinted, he'll be used all over the field.
Tight end, big receiver, hybrid, label him whatever, but regardless, he has the chance to make a real impact right away at USC.
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What about the baseball factor?
Robinson is a highly-regarded baseball prospect as well and has long maintained that he wants to play both college football and professional baseball at the same time. It's just never been explained how that will work.
Robinson had a high-profile workout for MLB scouts at Dodger Stadium in January and per the Baseball America draft prospect rankings around that time, he was slotted 123rd.
Robinson talked about his two-sport plans back in January with TrojanSports.com:
"I mean, hopefully I can get drafted and technically play college football still. It would just be [as] as a walk-on because once you sign a professional contract you can't go on scholarship anymore. But the goal is to hopefully sign professional and still be able to play college football," he said then.
"We're still trying to figure out [how that would work schedule-wise], but hopefully we'll be able to figure out a way, work it out with both sides to where we could figure out what days I need to go with football, what days I need to go with baseball. Honestly, kind of the same way it would be if I played both in college -- it would just most likely be in different locations."
Ultimately, it remains to be seen what the baseball factor ends up being in the end. The MLB draft is July 17-19.
Rivals recruiting director Adam Gorney breaks down Robinson's USC commitment
What is your reaction to Duce Robinson's long-awaited decision?
Gorney: "Yeah, long-awaited but not really surprising. You know, USC was always a school that was involved, especially once Lincoln Riley got that job. And then once Duce and his family were able to sit down and kind of have it detailed on how he would be utilized in that offense, I think USC definitely emerged as the favorite. He kind of fashions himself as a big outside receiver, like DK Metcalf. I think USC has talked to him about using him in that Drake London role -- kind of a big outside receiver type that's going to be able to get the ball in his hands in a variety of ways.
"The family is super smart and they understand, they're going to score a lot of points, they're going to throw the ball a lot, they're going to spread people out, get them in space, and that's what he's looking to do. Georgia was very intriguing here, obviously. They won back-to-back national titles. They've thrown to the tight ends a whole hell of a lot. Brock Bowers will be a first-rounder. Darnell Washington is in that first-round discussion even though he didn't put up big stats there. Playing in the SEC on the biggest stage, I think, was interesting. But just from the offensive perspective, how Lincoln runs his offense, the baseball part of this and the MLB draft coming up in July, LA is not a bad place not only for on the field stuff but a USC education and NIL opportunities."
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