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Early Signing Day, which in its second year has become the main event for recruits, arrived Wednesday with plenty of questions for USC.

The Trojans entered the day with Rivals' No. 31-ranked recruiting class and moved up to No. 21 while signing 18 players -- a number that will grow during the traditional National Signing Day in February.

The Trojans won a couple pending recruiting battles, landing 4-star defensive end Drake Jackson (Centennial HS) and 4-star linebacker Ralen Goforth (St. John Bosco HS), and they flipped a couple prospects committed elsewhere in signing 3-star defensive back Briton Allen (IMG Academy/Orland, Fla.), a Georgia Tech commit, and 3-star defensive tackle Dejon Benton (Pittsburg HS/Oakland, Calif.), a Washington State commit.

Again, some major targets like 5-star athlete Bru McCoy (Mater Dei HS), 5-star cornerback Chris Steele (St. John Bosco HS) and 4-star defensive back Noa Pola-Gates (Williams Field HS/Gilbert, Ariz.) remain.

But the bulk of the Trojans' class is now in place, and the reality is it will end up being one of the lower ranked recruiting hauls for the program when the dust settles -- after finishing No. 3 in the final Rivals recruiting rankings last year, No. 6 the year before and only outside the top-10 twice as far as the records go back to 2002. (USC finished 13th in the recruiting rankings in 2002 and 2013).

Here's what coach Clay Helton said about the class and other matters Wednesday:

RELATED: Breaking down USC's early signing class and Clay Helton's key comments

2:38 p.m. -- 3-star defensive tackle Dejon Benton (Pittsburg HS/Oakland, Calif.) signed with USC in what might have been the biggest surprise of the day.

Benton was committed to Washington State and there wasn't much buzz connecting him to the Trojans, but USC doesn't have another defensive tackle committed in this class so it's a nice addition.

Benton is listed at 6-foot-3, 285 pounds.

2:15 p.m. -- 3-star offensive guard/defensive lineman commit Gino Quinones (St. Louis School/Honolulu, Hawaii) signed with USC. He's the third of three offensive linemen expected to sign today.

He has expressed an interest to play on the defensive side, where he played throughout high school, but he was recruited to fill a need as an interior offensive lineman so it will be interesting to see where he ends up.

Read more about Quinones' position flexibility here and here.

1:40 p.m. -- 3-star linebacker commit Stanley Ta'ufo'ou is announced. He projects as an outside linebacker in USC's defense. This figures to complete the Trojans' LB class for the early signing period.

1 p.m. -- 4-star defensive end/outside linebacker Drake Jackson (Corona Centennial HS) signed with USC. He was legitimately torn between Arizona State and the Trojans but ultimately chose to go where he originally wanted to be.

12:50 p.m. -- 3-star RB Kenan Christon (Madison HS/San Diego) is announced. He is the only running back that is signing early with the Trojans, who also hold a commitment from 3-star prospect Jordan Wilmore.

12:30 p.m. -- 4-star wide receiver commit Drake London (Moorpark HS) has signed with USC.

London is one of the most intriguing prospects in this class for USC, as he'll be a dual-sport athlete. He's also ranked as a 4-star guard in basketball.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pound wideout tallied 62 receptions for 1,089 yards and 12 touchdowns this season for Moorpark, according to the team's MaxPreps stats.

Read more about London's two-sport pursuit and why USC was the best fit for him.

12:15 p.m. -- 4-star inside linebacker Ralen Goforth (St. John Bosco HS) announced live on FOX Sports West that he will be signing with USC.

This is a huge addition for the Trojans. Goforth is ranked the No. 17 outside linebacker in this class, and that might be underselling his potential. He racked up 103 total tackles, 7 tackles for loss and 6 sacks this fall for one of the best high school teams in the country.

Goforth gives USC three linebackers in this class, along with 4-star ILB signee Maninoa Tufono (Punahou School/Honolulu, Hawaii) and 3-star LB Stanley Taufoou (Grace Brethren HS).

We talked to Goforth at length about his decision here.

11:20 a.m. -- JUCO defensive end Nick Figueroa (Riverside Community College) is signing with USC.

We reported last night this was likely after fellow JUCO DE Datona Jackson confirmed his scholarship offer had been pulled.

Figueroa, listed at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, was named the Southern California Football Association Defensive Player of the Year after compiling 11.5 sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss and 38 total tackles.

10:14 a.m. -- 3-star wide receiver commit Munir McClain (JSerra Catholic HS) has signed with USC.

McClain is one of three WRs committed to the Trojans along with 4-star Moorpark HS WR Drake London (expected to sign today) and 4-star Orem (Utah) HS WR Puka Nacua (signing in February). USC is also hoping to land 5-star Bru McCoy (Mater Dei HS) and 4-star Kyle Ford (Orange Lutheran HS) as well.

As for McClain, he got a late start this season while returning from knee surgery, but he finished with 40 catches for 659 yards and 10 touchdowns over nine games, according to the team's MaxPreps stats.

Listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, he is the brother of USC outside linebacker Abdul-Malik McClain.

McClain is not expected to enroll early.

Read more about McClain's backstory and recruitment here.

10:05 a.m. -- 3-star defensive back commit Trey Davis (Federal Way HS/Federal Way, Wash.) has signed with USC.

Washington State remained aggressive in its pursuit of Davis through the fall, but he committed to the Trojans last spring and didn't much waver since then.

Davis told us in the fall he expects to work at nickel initially while strong safety would be another option for him. He is one of three defensive backs signed so far, along with 4-star cornerback Max Williams and 3-star nickel/safety Briton Allen. The Trojans are still hoping to add more help in the secondary, though.

Read more on Davis' backstory and recruitment here.

9:16 a.m. -- 4-star offensive tackle Jason Rodriguez (Oak Hills HS/Hesperia, Calif.) is the second offensive lineman to sign so far, and he's a major key to this recruiting class for USC.

Rodriguez, listed at 6-foot-6, 325 pounds, is ranked the No. 17 OT in this class and addresses one of the Trojans' most paramount needs. He is not expected to enroll early.

Read more on Rodriguez's recruitment here.

9:10 a.m. -- 4-star inside linebacker Maninoa Tufono (Punahou School/Honolulu, Hawaii) made his commitment official, signing with USC.

Tufono reaffirmed his decision with a positive official visit to campus last weekend, but it was still uncertain whether he planned to sign this week or wait until February. So this is big news for the Trojans, who only have two linebackers committed so far (along with 3-star prospect Stanley Taufoou, of Grace Brethren HS).

Tufono, listed at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, is ranked the No. 5 inside linebacker in this class.

Read more about Tufono's deal-sealing official visit to USC here.

8:55 a.m. -- 4-star tight end Jude Wolfe (St. John Bosco HS) has officially signed with USC.

Wolfe, who checks in at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, was often used as a blocking tight end for St. John Bosco, but he was also a productive red zone target while totaling 14 catches for 225 yards and 7 touchdowns.

After being reassured that new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury would indeed make use of tight ends, he has been excited about his potential to further showcase his receiving abilities.

Wolfe is enrolling early at USC.

Read more about his thoughts on the Kingsbury hiring here.

8:40 a.m. -- 2-star offensive guard commit Tilini Livai (Narbonne HS) has signed with USC.

Livai had a quick recruitment, picking up an offer in early December and promptly committing to the Trojans. Listed at 6-foot-3, 300 pounds, he is one of three offensive lineman committed in this class, though USC hopes to add to that total. He's the first of the three to sign his NLI.

He is not enrolling early.

Read more about Livai's background and recruitment here.

8:30 a.m. -- USC's first tight end has been announced. 4-star tight end Ethan Rae committed in July, just a few weeks before fellow TE Wolfe. Rae (Orange Lutheran HS) caught 20 passes and scored two touchdowns over the past two seasons.

Rae, who is not expected to enroll early, and Wolfe both stayed committed after USC hired Kingsbury, who has not always featured TEs in his offense. But both liked what they heard from Kingsbury this month, and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to his personnel.

USC coach Clay Helton had pitched Rae and Wolfe together, telling them they were the two TEs he wanted in this class and that sales pitch helped sell their commitments.

Read more about their joint recruitment here.

8:25 a.m. -- There's no bigger need for USC than cornerback, and another one has been announced. 4-star CB Max Williams committed in early October and held firm despite how the Trojans finished. The 4-star prospect from Gardena Serra High was sidelined by a torn ACL this past fall.

He played varsity beginning in his freshman year and collected eight career interceptions.

Williams is enrolling early at USC and hopes to be cleared for full contact by fall camp.

Read about Williams' recovery from ACL surgery and watch a video from his rehab here.

7:15 a.m. -- USC has landed 3-star defensive back Briton Allen (IMG Academy/Orlando, Fla.), who flips from his commitment to Georgia Tech.

The Trojans made a late play for Allen, who took his official visit to USC last weekend. He is being recruited as a nickel/safety, helping to address a major need for the program.

Allen had 21 tackles, 1 tackles for loss and 3 pass breakups this fall, according to IMG Academy's stats on MaxPreps.

Read more on USC's late push to land Allen.

6:35 a.m. -- 3-star quarterback commit Kedon Slovis (Desert Mountain HS/Scottsdale, Ariz.) signed his NLI this morning.

Slovis passed for 2,542 yards, 18 touchdowns and 6 interceptions this fall (and rushed for 68 yards and 4 TDs), according to his team's MaxPreps stats. Slovis is enrolling early at USC.

Here's the big feature story we wrote on Slovis this fall.

These are the signees who are set to enroll early and take part in spring practice:

-DB Briton Allen, LB Ralen Goforth, DL/OLB Drake Jackson, OL/DL Gino Quinones, QB Kedon Slovis, LB Stanley Ta'ufo'ou, CB Max Williams and TE Jude Wolfe.

-3-star OT Triston Miller (Country Day HS/Charlotte, N.C.) has signed with North Carolina.

-4-star DT Siaki Ika (East HS/Salt Lake City, Utah) has signed with LSU.

-3-star OL Sataoa Laumea (Eisenhower HS/Rialto, CA) has signed with Utah.

-4-star DE Ty Robinson (Higley HS/Gilbert, Ariz.) has signed with Nebraska. This was expected.

-4-star LB Mase Funa has signed with Oregon.

-4-star DE Stephon Wright has signed with Arizona State.

-3-star WR/DB Chris Roland has signed with Arizona

-3-star QB Dillon Gabriel has signed with UCF