Lucky No. 13 for USC
Milpitas (Calif.) three-star wide receiver Brandon Carswell has decided to end the recruiting process early.
While Carswell originally planned on taking at least two more official visits before signing day, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Central Coast standout couldn't shake the feeling that he had already found his new home for the next four years.
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"I'm done with recruiting," said Carswell. "I was going to take another visit to Arizona State, but I canceled that trip.
"Instead, I want to let everyone know that I'm going to go to USC. After a lot of thinking, I feel like USC is the right choice for me."
For Carswell, the decision to become a Trojan didn't result from a spectacular Dwayne Jarrett catch in the Rose Bowl or the 75-degree weather warming the USC campus on New Year's Day. Carswell looked past the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles, basing his decision on a much more noble factor.
On his official visit to USC last month, he found his fit by focusing on life after football.
"I knew USC was the place for me when I went to the Annenberg Center," said Carswell. "Once I saw the facilities, and talked to the people in charge, I really felt good about USC.
"They gave us a packet on broadcast journalism and showed me a DVD on how everything works. That really caught my eye because working in broadcast is what I look forward to doing after football."
While the educational aspects of USC sold Carswell on the school, his mother and father stood by knowing exactly where their son would be attending college next fall.
"My parents just wanted me to be comfortable with the school of my choice," said Carswell. "They loved the communications building and academics too, so that made it easy for them to like USC.
"They stress education first, so it's a good fit for me. They knew after we were done touring Annenberg that I wanted to be at USC."
As a senior, Carswell rushed for more than 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns as a quarterback – including a dazzling performance of 212 yards rushing on 15 carries in the CCS Championship game. Rated as the nation's No. 34 wide receiver, he ran a 4.54 40-yard dash at the Palo Alto NIKE Camp last May.
Carswell becomes the Trojans 13th commitment for the class of 2007.
For the whole story on Brandon Carswell's commitment to the Trojans, stay tuned to USCFootball.com for a premium addition of this article.