Commitment Analysis: Breaking down additions of Harry Dalton, Daune Morris
It was another important recruiting weekend on campus for USC with a number of highly-rated out-of-state prospects visiting, and with that it was another very successful one for the Trojans as well.
USC recruiting staffers teased three commitments to come from the weekend, via the Fight On emoji in tweets -- the universal signal in the Lincoln Riley Era that the program has added to its recruiting class.
And the first two of those to publicly announce their decisions were three-star running back Harry Dalton, out of Dinwiddie, Virginia, and four-star all-purpose back Duane Morris, out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
That makes three running back commits in a week for the Trojans, who also reeled in a pledge from Texas three-star RB Riley Wormley last Sunday. That said, Morris is viewed more as a versatile athlete who could fit multiple roles, which makes the trio work together well.
Either way, it's impressive work for new Trojans running backs coach Anthony Jones Jr., who has been on the job for about five weeks now.
In the case of Dalton, he blew the surprise a little bit when he tweeted Saturday night that he had a surprise coming at noon PT Sunday. USC fans quickly rallied around that tweet, presuming what it meant.
USC has relied heavily on transfer running backs since Riley arrived -- be it Travis Dye, MarShawn Lloyd, Austin Jones or the addition this year of Woody Marks -- but the program is now set up with a strong foundation of young talent for the years ahead. Former four-stars prospects Quinten Joyner and A'Marion Peterson enter their second year in the program while four-star freshman Bryan Jackson is going through his first spring practice with the Trojans.
Joyner looks primed to have a major role this year along with Marks, the veteran transfer from Mississippi State, and Jackson has already received good buzz this spring as a 17-year-old early enrollee.
Add Wormley and Dalton in next year and that's a stable of five very talented ball-carriers to build around.
Jones, USC's RBs coach, shared last week what he prioritizes in recruiting running backs: "Just a smart, tough, fast kid. You can put them in any order you want to put them in, but smart, tough and fast. If they're fast, we like them; if they're really fast, we love them."
In the case of Dalton, he did a little bit of everything for his Dinwiddie HS team last season, rushing for 1,295 yards and 27 touchdowns on 7.4 yards per carry and also passing for 1,662 yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 picks, per MaxPreps.
Watch Dalton's highlights here:
How Morris eventually fits into the offense is yet to be determined, but he is a dynamic athlete the Trojans coveted.
Morris rushed for 1,913 yards and 28 touchdowns on 9.8 yards per carry last season for Oakland HS in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He also had 46 catches for 565 yards and 3 TDs.
Watch his highlights here:
Overall, USC is on a recruiting roll with nine commitments now since March 24. Each of the last three big recruiting weekends has produced immediate results for the Trojans, and again, more is expected to come from this one.
USC is up to 10 commitments overall for this 2025 recruiting class.