HONOLULU, Hawaii -- There were rumblings late in Maninoa Tufono's recruitment that he was wavering on his USC commitment, potentially even de-committing.

Now that he's officially signed, he was candid in reflecting back on that period, as the Trojans had just wrapped up a disappointing 5-7 season and uncertainty swirled around coach Clay Helton and his staff.

The record wasn't so much the issue for Tufono, who's convinced it was just a temporary setback for the storied program. It was everything else that gave him pause late in the fall.