Four-stars flood SC

Matt Leinart, LenDale White, Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett all have one thing in common; they were four-star prospects coming out of high school.

It's rare, if not unheard of to preview a weekend of official visits without detailing every four-star recruit in attendance. Well, there's only so much time in a day!

Seven four-star recruits are expected to officially visit USC this weekend.

Oakland (Calif.) McClymonds duo, Joshua Tatum and Derrick Hill will both make the trip down to Southern California this weekend. After a great visit to Miami two weeks ago, Tatum claims the Hurricanes and Trojans are neck and neck in the race for his commitment.

Hill will visit Cal Dec 9, and names the Bears co-leaders with the Trojans. Tatum and Hill are set to make their announcements on ESPN soon after Hills' visit to Cal, but for SC fans, the wait could become superfluous.

The same could be said for Los Angeles (Calif.) Venice safety Jonas Mouton, although he has no set plans for when and where he'll announce his college decision. While Mouton's family ties to Louisiana are pulling him back home, they may not be strong enough to pull him away from Southern California.

The Trojans already have two highly-rated safeties signed, but Mouton is adamant that he won't pick a school based on someone else's decision.

Aurora (Colo.) Regis Jesuit defensive tackle Butch Lewis has proven to be a much more difficult prospect read. While USC has remained among Lewis' top three choices throughout the year, his family ties in Georgia and Florida seem to be very influential. How influential remains undetermined, but this will be the second time Lewis will watch the Trojans in person.

In October, Lewis was on an official visit to Notre Dame when the Trojans pulled off a last-minute 34-31 victory. A great time in Los Angeles could help USC pull off another last-minute victory for Lewis' commitment.

Overall, this weekend may have more impact on Lewis' decision than any other recruit visiting. His decision on a school should come in the next month.

Rounding out this impressive list of visitors is Tallahassee (Fla.) North Florida Christian running back Marcus Sims, Klein (Texas) Collins running back Michael Goodson and Wendell (N.C.) East Lake defensive Tackle Aleric Mullins.

The real wildcard here is Goodson, if he does visit. For those just tunning in to the Goodson soap opera, he originally committed to Texas A&M over the spring, then to USC on an unofficial visit, before publicly announcing a commitment to Oklahoma State in July. Goodson is still verbally committed to the Cowboys, but he's been wavering since September.

While the 6-foot, 200-pound running back has a propensity for verbally committing, actions speak louder than words. Before Goodson can make any overtures of committing to USC, he must de-commit from Oklahoma State.

Check out USCFootball.com and The Peristyle throughout the weekend for updates and news on the star-studded visitors.