Elite RB Taylor Tatum goes in-depth on USC, OU and where things stand

LONGVIEW, Texas -- Leading into and coming out of his official visit to USC at the start of June, the buzz seemed to be behind the Trojans in four-star running back Taylor Tatum's recruitment.

Fresh off his official visit to Oklahoma two weekends ago, the Sooners started trending strongly for Tatum on social media and with recruiting analysts.

So where do things actually stand?

"It's pretty even in my recruitment. My recruitment's still open. It's not like I've just boiled it down to those two schools -- it's just where I've been lately. So I think it's been going good, getting to both those places, getting those two OVs out the way. My recruitment's still open, though," Tatum said Monday as TrojanSports.com visited with him after a morning workout at Longview High School.

Of course, if there was a clear leader in Tatum's recruitment, it's not likely he'd divulge it anyway, but he continually reiterated that this last month has only made his decision tougher than he expected and that he could delay a decision later than he initially wanted.

"Yeah, I [thought] after those two visits I'd be like, pick one school, be like, 'Oh yeah, I like this school,' but no, it's pretty even. Both schools are real different from each other," Tatum said. "Kind of hard to get the LA vibe -- you can't really get it anywhere else. So I mean, it's just two schools, it's going to be hard yes and no, but I'm taking my time with it, making sure I make the right decision and none of that decommitting, transfer portal. So I'm just making sure I feel [sure] within my own self."

Tatum went in-depth on both official visits and the qualities standing out the most for those two top contenders -- starting with his USC visit the first weekend in June and the vision head coach Lincoln Riley presented for his role/fit in the Trojans' offense.