Maason Smith, the 5-star defensive tackle from Houma, La., has stayed very much on the radar of USC fans' interest despite seeming a bit of a longshot for the Trojans.
That's been due in large part to another 5-star defensive line prospect -- No. 1-ranked DE and top USC target Korey Foreman -- stating several times, as recently as last month, that he thinks there's a "90 percent chance" he and Smith choose the same college.
A recent report by Rivals analyst Sam Spiegelman, after talking with Smith, indicated that may not be the most important factor for him at this point..
But nonetheless, it was notable Saturday when Smith included the Trojans in his trimmed down list of eight contenders.
USC and Oregon are the only west coast schools to make the cut for Smith, and five of the eight finalists are from the southeast, where most expect he'll ultimately end up.
According to Spiegelman, Smith indicated that LSU, Georgia, Miami and Alabama have positioned themselves well to receive official visits this fall whenever the dead period is lifted.
"Those four are the teams that have stuck out the most to me so far and are recruiting me the hardest," Smith said. "I'm trying to figure out the fifth. It depends ... some of the schools I haven't been to, so I'll see how I like it or the feel for it whenever I'm there."
Foreman had said previously there were plans for Smith to come visit him this summer for a couple weeks and get a taste of California living, but it's unclear if that ever happened.
Expect USC to continue to recruit Smith hard regardless, as they have throughout, but his comments about his likely official visits make it clear the Trojans have a lot of work to do in his recruitment still.
