It is a busy recruiting weekend around the country, and that has led to a number of new commitments as prospects position themselves to officially join programs next week during the early signing period. Some recruits are still taking visits figuring out exactly where they want to go, while others are having final discussions about their decisions.
Saturday, USC added a recruit who visited earlier in the fall with three-star 2023 defensive lineman Elijah Hughes giving the Trojans his commitment over offers from Virginia Tech, Stanford, Maryland, Miami, Cal, Duke and a host of Ivy League schools.
The 6-foot-3 prospect from Arlington, Virginia (Washington-Liberty High School) started to see more attention come his way this summer, and the progress he showed led to an offer from the Trojans.
He quickly set up a visit to see USC in person and made the trek out to Los Angeles once the season began.
Hughes ended up taking summer visits to Virginia Tech and Stanford, plus he took an official visit to Maryland as well.
USC rekindled its pursuit recently leading to his decision to head out west to play for Lincoln Riley, Shaun Nua and the Trojans.
"I am extremely grateful for each and every coach who took the time to get to know me throughout this recruiting process," Hughes wrote in a social media post announcing his decision.
One of the primary needs for USC in this 2023 recruiting class (and surely in its transfer portal pursuits) is to bolster the defensive line.
On the interior in particular, the Trojans are going from thin to thinner with Brandon Pili exhausting his eligibility, leaving veteran Stanley Ta'ufo'ou as the only experienced nose tackle/defensive tackle. USC brought in TCU transfer Earl Barquet last year, but he didn't see the field much in 2022.
But the Trojans now have three interior defensive line commits in this 2023 class in Sam Greene (St. Frances Academy/Baltimore, Md.), Deijon Laffitte (Colony HS/Ontario, Calif.) and now Hughes.
It wouldn't be a surprise at all to see the Trojans look to also add some experience there through the portal, but building a young foundation at the position is big picture need that they'll hope they've addressed with those three commits. Plus, USC recently added a commitment from Arizona defensive line transfer Kyon Barrs.
USC still has an equally pressing matter of rebuilding at defensive end, with veteran Nick Figueroa out of eligibility and All-American Tuli Tuipulotu expected to depart for the NFL, though he hasn't announced his intentions yet.
Hughes is now the 20th commitment for the Trojans in Riley's first full recruiting class, which currently ranks No. 12 overall in the Rivals team recruiting rankings. He is the first high school commitment for USC since edge rusher David Peevy gave the program his pledge back in October.
