As USC coach Clay Helton surveyed the Trojans' needs in this 2019 recruiting class, he knew he wanted to sign two tight ends -- and, for that matter, he knew exactly which two he wanted.
So with 4-star prospects Jude Wolfe (St. John Bosco) and Ethan Rae (Orange Lutheran) both on campus in June for USC's Rising Stars Camp, Helton seized the opportunity to make his joint pitch.
"Coach Helton talked to the two of us and said that we were like the two tight ends that he wanted most in this class," Wolfe recalled. "He gave us an example of how he needed safeties two years ago and got Isaiah [Pola-Mao] and Bubba [Bolden]. Last year he said the two linebackers he wanted [were Palaie Gaoteote] and Solo [Solomon Tuliaupupu], and then he said this year with the tight ends he wanted me and Ethan. From then on it kind of just made it easy to commit."
Said Rae: "A bunch of the top recruits went there. We didn't work out or anything, we were just talking to coach and everything and that's when he called us over. He was like, 'Yeah, I'm going to be straight up with you guys -- you are the two I want.' He gave us the whole situation how [Daniel] Imatorbhebhe wants to go to the NFL and Tyler Petite's a senior, and he just laid it all out in front of us and told us straight up. So I really liked that, and obviously we both liked that because we're committed."
