Former USC 4-star commit Junior Tuihalamaka leaves Trojans off new top 5
Four-star Rivals100 linebacker Niuafe "Junior" Tuihalamaka was committed to USC for almost a year before backing off that pledge on Jan. 23.
He had since maintained that USC was still very much in the picture, telling us last week that the Trojans were recruiting him even harder since his decommitment.
"As of right now, they're still in my top 5 for sure. I'm still communicating with the coaches every day. Right now, I'm still trying to build up a relationship with them, trying to have better communication with them and understand where I stand with them," Tuihalamaka told TrojanSports.com nine days ago.
On Monday, though, he delivered a much different statement about where USC stands in his recruitment -- posting a new top 5 schools list on Twitter that does not include the Trojans.
Tuihalamaka's new top 5 features Notre Dame, Arizona State, Texas, Stanford and Oregon.
His decommitment from USC coincided with a new offer from the Fighting Irish, who have made a major push for the No. 1-ranked inside linebacker in the 2022 recruiting class.
USC has a commitment from 2022 3-star linebacker Ty Kana (Katy HS/Katy, Texas) and signed two 4-star linebackers in the 2021 class in Julien Simon and Raesjon Davis. But it remains a position of need, and to lose the top-rated player at the position from right down the road at Bishop Alemany HS would be a tough defeat for the Trojans' 2022 recruiting efforts.
Even after the decommitment, there was plenty of hope that USC could reposition itself in his recruitment over the year ahead, but the exclusion from the top 5 list sent a strong message otherwise.