If USC's stated priority of keeping the top local talent home this recruiting cycle needed any reinforcement, just look at the results so far.

The list of top local prospects committing to the Trojans grew further Sunday as four-star linebacker/edge Shaun Scott, out of Mater Dei High School, announced his USC decision.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Scott is rated by Rivals as a four-star edge, but he had told TrojanSports.com earlier this spring that his main conversations have been with the USC staff have been with linebackers coach Rob Ryan and assistant LBs coach AJ Howard, along with defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn and head coach Lincoln Riley.

"I feel like USC's pretty high right now. They've been recruiting me real hard, probably the hardest team that's been recruiting me," Scott told TrojanSports.com in March. "I talk to Lincoln Riley, I talk to coach [D'Anton] Lynn, AJ Howard, everybody."

As for his connection with Ryan ...

"He made an impression. He's very big on me. He went over my tape, he loves it. He just wants to utilize me in a lot of different ways," Scott said. "Him dealing with all those guys [in the NFL], those Hall of Famers and things like that, it's big that he believes in me."

UCLA, Miami and Texas were among other programs prominently involved in Scott's recruitment.

Instead, he becomes the Trojans' 27th commitment as they continue to hold the No. 1-ranked recruiting class. (USC was also at 27 commits previously before WR Kohen Brown backed off his pledge earlier this week).

As to the priority on securing the top prospects locally, Scott is the 16th in-state commit and the second from Mater Dei, along with four-star DT Tomuhini Topui.

Just five of USC's 24 commits last cycle came from the state of California, while it was eight of 23 commits in the 2024 class while the Trojans hadn't landed a commit from national powerhouse Mater Dei since the 2022 class.

Scott is the Trojans' second linebacker commit along with four-star Xavier Griffin (Gainesville, Georgia).

He gives USC 12 Rivals250 commits in this class again.

Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney's scouting report:

"It's hard to tell right now [where he fits in] because you don't see a lot of guys his size stay at linebacker in college and be able to play in space, but at his size he can move and do that. In high school, it seems like he's come off the edge a little bit more, but then he lines up in the middle. So he has the ability to play in space and come down and make tackles as a linebacker at his size, but if you see him from a year ago to now and you kind of project two or three years down the road it wouldn't be a shock if he was coming off the edge a little bit more. ...

"He's been this way for like two years now, since he was a sophomore -- well-known kid, high expectations and has sort of always met them on the field. He's much better in pads, in games than when you see him in a 7-on-7 or camp setting. It's very difficult for linebackers to shine in camp settings anyway, but it's even harder for bigger linebackers to be asked to play in so much space. I wouldn't be shocked if that's how USC sees him -- a guy they can put on their defense whether they need somebody to come off the edge, whether they need a linebacker, kind of a guy that floats around a little bit and is just productive and gets people on the ground."