LONG BEACH, California — When you know, you know.

For four-star linebacker Dylan Williams the timing is right, and the situation feels right too. Williams committed to USC on Monday, picking the Trojans well over a year before he will have his first chance to sign a National Letter of Intent as a 2024 recruit.

He didn’t have to make his decision now. The 215th-ranked prospect in the class could have waited to see what other programs decided to offer him and where the process took him before coming to a conclusion about the right program.

Instead, he will follow his Long Beach Poly teammate, Jason Robinson, to USC, where the duo now makes up the majority of the three-man 2024 class so far that also includes four-star Calabasas High athlete Aaron Butler.

Williams decided last week what he would be doing, and he informed Lincoln Riley and the rest of the coaches of his decision over the weekend while on his latest visit to USC.

“As soon as coach Lincoln got out here he made it known to me that I was a top priority,” Williams said Monday in a sit-down interview with TrojansSports.com. “ ... Talking to coach Donte, coach Odom, coach Lincoln they just always make me feel at home and make my family feel good.

“Every time I’m up there – my mom, my dad, my auntie – they’re just always checking in on my family making sure we’re all good. So, I just feel at home. And, I feel like playing for coach Odom he’ll develop me and get me to the league.”

Williams has been able to build a strong offer list already in the process despite being just a sophomore with schools such as Michigan State, Utah, TCU, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon State all involved.