USC is the first to offer McDuffie
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When USC offers a scholarship to a young prospect in Southern California, that youngster is usually already a known high school football star.
On Thursday, the Trojan coaching staff bucked that trend by offering a scholarship to Trent McDuffie, an under-the-radar athlete from Anaheim, Calif. Servite HS.
USC was actually the first football program to offer McDuffie a scholarship. The young athlete received the offer in a phone conversation with Johnny Nansen.
In fact, USC is the first school to recruit McDuffie.
"USC is the one really recruiting me right now," McDuffie told TrojanSports.com when asked about his recruitment.
But the Trojan staff did its homework before targeting this 2019 prospect. Johnny Nansen and Ronnie Bradford visited Servite HS "like two weeks ago on a Thursday" according to 5-foot-11 and 175-pound prospect. And those two coaches seemed to immediately show interest
"They came out to our school and they were talking to our head coach," McDuffie said. "And I was at track practice and the coach came out and he was watching me doing jumps at track. And then (Thursday), my head coach told me to give one of the coaches a call. I gave him a call and we kind of chatted for a little bit and then they offered me."
Apparently, McDuffie impressed USC on film and in person.
"He said they like my film," McDuffie said. "They saw me long jump. He was saying that my academics are really good and he was explaining a little bit about USC. And then, when he offered me, he was just congratulating me and basically just saying that I'm a good player and they really like what they saw."
McDuffie understands the football tradition at USC. He also understands that this scholarship offer may have shocked a few Trojan fans who are used to USC hunting for five-stars prospects when it comes to local recruiting. But McDuffie thinks USC just happened to notice his talents before anyone else.
"I think that I'm so close to them and I'm such a dynamic player, I just have to go live on the field," McDuffie said. "And I'm a multi-sport athlete. I know in the past Adoree' Jackson did long jump and everything like that. I'm really big in that too so I think that kind of caught their eye too."
USC's coaches do like athletes that can play multiple positions. That might be what they have in mind for this prospect.
McDuffie says he plays receiver, cornerback, special teams and "a little bit of running back too." In track, he runs the 4x1 relay, the long jump and the 100 meter dash. He says he runs the 100 meter in 10.9 seconds.
That means he can probably project to multiple spots.
"They didn't really give a specific," McDuffie said when asked about which position USC wants him to play. "More just like an athlete who can get on the field."
And because he's such a versatile player, he's not concerned with where he plays at USC. He's just happy for the opportunity to play at USC.
"It's pretty huge," McDuffie said. "Everyone in my family has been a big USC fan. So they've always been really up there to me. It's pretty special. I was excited, I was kind of shocked. I didn't think I was going to get an offer from them anytime soon. I was really excited, a lot of emotions."
Just don't expect him to make a commitment to USC anytime soon.
"I'm going to wait to see what there is," McDuffie said when asked about a potential commitment. "I sent out my film a lot. I was in track since January so all the spring ball stuff, I didn't really do. I've been kind of focusing on track. I've kind of just been like talking to coaches and watching film. And I'm doing a lot of camps coming up. Colorado, Washington, USC, UCLA, Stanford and I did a past one at LSU."
Those camps, and this offer from USC, will likely help him with his national exposure.
"I think I'm going to be more on the radar, I guess," McDuffie said. "A coach could say, oh this kid has a USC offer, we should look into him and see how good he is. And I think after a while, coaches will realize I'm a dual athlete, I can play anywhere on the field. I think they can kind of put me where they need me."
If McDuffie is suddenly swarmed with scholarship offers, he'll take his time and eventually make a decision based on what's important to him.
"I'm really focusing on academics a lot," McDuffie said. "I like academics. I want to make sure I go to a school where there's strong academics, a legacy. I like the schools where I know that when I go there, I feel at home and they're actually going to push me so that later in life I can become successful."
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