While USC has reeled in a number of highly-ranked defensive commits so far in this 2021 class -- with cornerbacks coach Donte Williams playing a leading role in a couple of those recruiting wins -- the Trojans are still looking to address their needs at cornerback.

And Mater Dei High School standout Jaylin Davies -- the No. 7-ranked CB in this class, No. 72 overall prospect and one of USC's priority targets at the position -- included the Trojans in his top 4 list Saturday, as expected.

Arizona State, Oregon and Ohio State are Davies' other finalists.

USC has been pushing hard for Davies for a long time, with Williams picking up the lead on those efforts after being hired away from Oregon in February.

"It makes a decision a lot harder," Davies told TrojanSports.com after Williams hiring, seeming to indicate that the Trojans were not leading in his recruitment but that the Williams hiring gave him more to think about.

In ranking the contenders for Davies last month, Rivals analyst Adam Gorney had Arizona State pegged as the favorite with the Trojans close behind. Former Trojan Chris Hawkins, a grad assistant on the USC staff last year, is the defensive backs coach at ASU now and leading his recruiting there.

As for the Trojans, they have not yet signed a cornerback in this class and didn't sign one in the 2020 class either, so it's priority position this cycle. They have a nice nucleus of corners at present with junior Olaijah Griffin, redshirt sophomore Isaac Taylor-Stuart (working his way back from injury) and sophomore Chris Steele the returning trio of starters who rotated between those two spots last season. Behind them, sophomore Dorian Hewett is the only other player to get meaningful snaps at the position last season, redshirt freshman Max Williams got some work at nickel last year behind veteran Greg Johnson, and Jayden Williams and Adonis Otey round out the depth chart on the outside.

But by the time Davies' class comes in, he could be competing for a rotation spot, with the position perhaps wide open a year later.

USC hosted Davies on campus in early March and he had positive things to say about the experience at the time:

"The day went real good. They had a lot of the old alumni there Adoree' [Jackson], Biggie [Marshall] to name a few, a lot of my old teammates and guys from the area showed up to show love," Davies said then. "We went to see the USC vs UCLA [basketball] game which was a great game. Got to meet Nick Young, Swaggy P., so the stars were out and it was very LA. That's what was probably the most impactful part was the presentation put on for the players about life after football, which is very important to me, and the network and connections that USC has to offer."

USC is pursuing a number of top cornerback targets aggressively, both locally and nationally, but Davies would be a huge addition if the Trojans can reel him in at some point.

**For more insight on USC's other cornerback targets, check out our recent discussion on Trojan Talk**