Trojans Today: Thursday morning roundup and 2020 fan poll question

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**This is a new daily morning segment at TrojanSports.com, as a way to recap the previous day, set the stage for the day ahead, highlight the best of social media and the best of this board.**

Today's poll question comes from TrojanSports.com subscriber Jack53 and is a very topical hypothetical for these present times.

If there is football this fall, will you sit in a crowded Coliseum (however crowded it's allowed to be) and will you gather to tailgate beforehand? (The more people who chime in with a vote, the more interesting it is to react to the results -- what else do you have to do these days?)

**Go here to vote and follow the live results**

On Wednesday, we asked where USC will finish in the 2021 Rivals recruiting rankings. The majority response was a top-10 finish, receiving 18 of 33 votes as of Thursday morning. Only one was confident enough to predict a top-5 finish, and others were more tepid with 3 votes going to "Higher than the No. 65 finish last year" -- which is already a lock -- 2 votes for top 30 and 9 votes for top 20.

Of course, before last year, USC had never finished outside the top 20 in the history of the Rivals rankings, which date back to 2002. At present, USC is No. 9 after picking up the commitment yesterday from 4-star ATH Anthony Beavers. The Trojans already have four Rivals250 commits and five 4-star commits overall -- after signing just one Rivals250 guy and only two 4-star commits last year.

My vote was for a top 10 finish. I think they're trending in that direction, and my sources indicate they could be vaulted even higher on those rankings by the end of the week.

We've discussed all the factors behind the recruiting renaissance -- athletic director Mike Bohn following through on his pledge for more support by doubling the size of the recruiting staff, upping the social media game and most importantly a defensive coordinator/staff that is not only engaged in the recruiting process but relentless about it.

We're also not seeing the same stigma that existed last year regarding Clay Helton and his future. That doesn't mean he's off the hot seat or won't be scrutinized in the fall (or whenever games are played again), but the investments in building up the staff around him have made uncertainty about his long-term status no longer a primary point of perception for the program.

Also, recruiting is all about momentum. USC had none last year. The Trojans have a good bit right now. Prospects are buzzing in their group chats, they're seeing 4-star prospects like Brandon Campbell and Beavers commit early, etc. The staff still has to close the deal -- a recruiting class is not won by April -- and they still have to show they can get over the hump and keep the elite local talent (Korey Foreman, Raesjon Davis, etc.) at home like this program was built on for years and years.

That domino hasn't yet tumbled, but a bunch of others have so far and it's certainly a noticeable difference from where we were on National Signing Day just two and a half months ago.

Speaking of which, this is what Beavers said about the recruiting class he feels he's a part of at USC:

"There's more stuff coming. We're probably going to have like five more commits coming soon -- five, six more commits."

We've heard there could be a few more in the queue already, but Beavers is in those group texts and talking to his peers, so it's certainly a notable comment. We'll see what happens.

Here's the news from yesterday to get you caught up:

-Four-star ATH Anthony Beavers discusses his USC commitment decision

-Commitment Analysis: Rivals analyst Adam Gorney gives his scouting report on Beavers

-Recruiting Rumblings: Interviews with 4-star CB Avante Dickerson and 3-star RB Logan Diggs, plus a closer look at all of USC's recent new offers

-Bossi's Best: Top 12 basketball transfer pickups of the early offseason

-Trojans Today -- Tuesday edition -- with mini column on Kedon Slovis' potential for 2020

We're hearing there could be some news coming from USC around noon-ish Thursday (non-recruiting). That's all the intel we have, so be on the look out for an announcement of some sort.As for recruiting, there is strong buzz that more commitments could be coming soon (though probably not Thursday). So stay tuned!

The best of social media from Wednesday:

USC commits Jake Garcia and Brandon Campbell chime in on Beavers' USC decision ...

Some good reaction from USC coaches to the commitment ...

USC director of scouting and recruiting strategy Trey Johnson and the Trojans social media team doing good work ...

Colin Cowherd with more kudos for the USC social media team ...

More from Beavers on that recruiting momentum ...

USC student Xiaoke Ying got some flak for answering Babe Ruth instead of Jackie Robinson on Jeopardy, and the show's official account tweeted this in support of her accomplishment for even being on the show ...

The latest USC recruiting video letting prospects know they have a chance to play early ...

There was a lot of strong reaction in general to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's comments Wednesday and grim forecast on the possibility for large gatherings until 2021.

**Read that thread here**

**And here's the LA Times story on his comments**