OL Keith Olson details his USC commitment, what sold him on Trojans
USC has its first offensive line commit of this 2022 recruiting class, as three-star prospect Keith Olson announced his Trojans decision Tuesday evening.
Olson, from Napavine, Wash., took an official visit to USC a few weekends ago before also visiting Oregon State. What he saw on that visit proved to be very impactful.
“The O-line held each other accountable with no coach around. I enjoyed Coach McGuire a lot and he knows a lot of football. The facilities are top notch and the Coliseum is awesome,” Olson told TrojanSports.com after his announcement.
He reiterated that watching the offensive linemen work out together was the moment that sold him on joining the program.
“[I knew] after watching the O-line run their practice,” he said.
Olson is the first commit for new Trojans offensive line coach Clay McGuire.
“He said he’s from a small town in Texas and didn’t know what he would be walking into player-wise. But as he got here the players on the team are great people and they’re trying to bring in great people,” Olson said.
USC is hoping to sign four offensive linemen in this class so getting the first commitment on the board is significant this deep into the cycle.
Olson is listed at 6-foot-6, 278 pounds. The Trojans first reached out to him in early May so his recruitment unfolded quickly.
As for his position he was recruited as a tackle.
“[McGuire] told me he recruits tackles out of highschool. He will play the best 5, if it’s 4 tackles and 2 have to play guard they will,” Olson said.
Olson’s father Kurt played both football and baseball at Oregon State and planted the seed early with him that he could play at the Division I level as well.
“He always told me I could play at the next level, but I wasn’t sure if I could. He, my mom and grandparents took me to any camp or practice. They helped me get seen and a greatly appreciate them all,” Olson said, noting that it was hard not to choose to follow his dad’s path to Oregon State.
“Yeah it was,” he continued. “Everyone in my family told me they don’t care we’re I go. That helped me out a lot make my decision on what I thought felt the best.”
USC had four-star TE Keyan Burnett decommit on Saturday, so Olson puts the Trojans back at nine commits overall. He is the fourth out-of-state prospect to commit after taking an official visit with the Trojans last month, following five-star DE Mykel Williams (Columbus, Ga.), four-star RB De’Anthony Gatson (Newton, Texas) and four-star CB Jaeden Gould (Oradell, N.J.)