Lincoln Riley said last week that he feels real momentum with USC's defensive recruiting, especially with younger prospects who will get more time to get to know the new defensive staff.
And sure enough the Trojans have landed two 2026 defensive commitments this week (while also losing one).
On Monday, three-star local cornerback Josh Holland, from St. John Bosco HS, announced his Trojans commitment.
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Holland's commitment comes just two days after Rivals100 four-star 2026 DE Xavier Griffin (Gainesville, Georgia) announced his USC commitment.
Those two are joined by four-star defensive back Brandon Lockhart (Loyola HS), three-star defensive back Madden Riordan (Sierra Canyon HS) and three-star WR Ja'Myron Baker in a 2026 class that ranks third nationally early on -- even after four-star safety Dominick Kelly (Los Alamitos HS) flipped his commitment to Georgia earlier Monday.
Holland talked to TrojanSports.com last month about his conversations with USC DBs coach Doug Belk, saying "Coach Belk compared me to Minkah Fitzpatrick and he said the way I just break on the ball and my playing style [stand out]."
Holland said then that USC and Oklahoma were pushing the hardest for him.
Scouting report from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney
"He's a tall, rangy cornerback. He could play both ways, but he'll probably play cornerback. He's an athletic kid, probably needs to be a little bit more physical. He didn't play as much of a major role last year just because they had Marcelles Williams and some other guys, but he'll step into that role now this year. My sense was that he was really, really high on Oregon and Oklahoma, so this is a big win for them to keep a kid home and get into Bosco and keep that pipeline going."
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