ORANGE, Calif. -- Ethan Rae is one of three USC 4-star signees working his way back from an ACL surgery, but unlike his Orange Lutheran High School teammate Kyle Ford or Gardena Serra HS cornerback Max Williams, Rae has done this before.

He missed his entire junior season after tearing the ACL in his left knee that previous summer. Now he's working his way back again after tearing his right ACL late in the fall.

"I feel really strong," Rae said on Wednesday while taking part in a signing ceremony at Orange Lutheran, even though he officially signed with USC back in December.

"I'm already two and a half months into it so I get to jog in probably two or three weeks. Right now it's just stabilizing and all that. ... It's easier [because I've been through it before], but the only downfall is since I know what to expect I kind of want to get through it and rush. But it's definitely quicker because I know what to do and stuff. But I definitely just need to be careful on that aspect of things."

Rae has talked with USC coach Clay Helton about his options for the fall, and the plan as of now is to just wait and see what happens. With the new rule that went into effect last season allowing freshmen to play in up to four games without burning a year of eligibility, Rae can get into action when he's ready and then make a determination.

"I'll basically just get in those four games and see if I'm making much of an impact and we'll just look at it at the end of the four and be like 'Do we need you?'' And basically make the decision from there," he said.

Because he was able to do everything but contact drills seven months after his first ACL surgery, he's expecting to be active in fall camp in a similar capacity.

"I think I should be more than fine to play," he said.

In the meantime, Rae and Ford, the star receiver from Orange Lutheran, have been sharing notes about their dual recoveries.

"All the time," Ford said. "I'm like, 'Hey bro, I did these jumps today, I did this jog today,' and he's like, 'I did this the other day.' I'm a little ahead of him because I did my surgery before him, but we love to just talk like, 'Does your knee do this?'"

Ford is also hoping to play this fall, as is Williams, who enrolled early and has impressed Helton with his approach to his rehab.

As for Rae, he is one of two 4-star tight ends the Trojans signed, along with St. John Bosco HS standout Jude Wolfe.

And like all of USC's recruits -- and current players, for that matter -- it was an interesting last month waiting to see how everything would shake out with the offensive coaching staff after Kliff Kingsbury lasted a little more than a month as offensive coordinator before becoming head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

Graham Harrell, another former Texas Tech QB who spent the last three years as the offensive coordinator at North Texas, was hired last week to replace Kingsbury.

"It was all right. I couldn't blame him for taking an NFL job, obviously. What happens happens and I'm excited about the new OC," Rae said. "He came by school and he was on the phone with me. I like his energy -- his player resume is pretty impressive -- and I could definitely feel that from him. I like those kind of coaches as well -- I feel like their energy will make me thrive. I like coaches like that."

Harrell visited with Rae and Ford at Orange Lutheran late last week and then called Rae again over the weekend.

"He just basically gave me a little bit of a rundown on his offense. We didn't talk too much football stuff. It was more kind of getting to know him," Rae said. "He's going to send me the new playbook soon and everything like that, so all that stuff will get acclimated during spring ball. I think I'm going to come down there to most of the Saturday practices, get acclimated that way."

The offensive coordinator turnstile has been especially relevant to the tight ends, as both Rae and Wolfe had initial questions when Kingsbury was hired about how he'd utilize the position. They were assuaged at that time, and then in comes another disciple of the Air Raid offense.

Harrell actually used the tight end position more than Kingsbury did during his tenure at Texas Tech. Tight end Kelvin Smith had 29 catches for 269 yards and a touchdown this fall for North Texas. And Smith and fellow TE Caleb Chumley combined for 34 catches for 353 yards in 2017.

"When Kingsbury took over, yeah, I was, I asked them. But [Harrell] has a similar offense and I know when I ran through it with Kingsbury he was still really open to using tight ends and I believe this guy is too," Rae said. "And I know he [has] an exciting and explosive offense and everything will work out, so I'm not questioning that."

Helton addressed the tight end topic as well during his National Signing Day news conference.

"That was one of the big things that I absolutely loved in both Kliff’s and Graham’s systems -- they both included 12 personnel, which is two tights, two wides," he said. "11 personnel for both was kind of the lead personnel grouping, which has been our M.O. over the last couple seasons. Both of them look to throw the ball to the tight end."

Ultimately, like everyone else in and around the program, Rae is just happy to know who will be coaching him once he arrives on campus.

"It feels good to have it set and not be worrying about what's happening next," Rae said.