COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Rivals100 wide receiver Jalen Hale was pretty clear about where things stand with USC and in his recruitment in general, while talking with reporters Friday at the Texas 7-on-7 state tournament.
"Right now, they're sitting at 2," he said of the Trojans. "Until I go on the rest of my visits, they at 2. Georgia's first."
Hale took his USC official visit last weekend, as part of the mega recruiting event that featured two dozen Trojans commits and top targets.
Ranked the No. 13 WR and No. 75 overall national prospect, he's kind of the last potential piece to the puzzle at receiver for the Trojans in this 2023 recruiting class. With five-star Zachariah Branch and four-star Rivals100 WR Makai Lemon already committed, and five-star target Brandon Inniss committing to Ohio State this week, Hale is the singular focus at the position for USC right now barring a change of heart from Inniss.
And the Longview, Texas, standout seemed to really get a lot out of his visit to Los Angeles.
"You know, it's Cali, so the place already good itself. Really, the coaching staff [stood out], and I got a chance to talk to [Zachariah Branch] and Malachi [Nelson]. I got to hang with them, so I had a good time out there," Hale said. "... That was my first time meeting them in person. They're real cool people. They want me to come there. I'm real cool with them. It's crazy because me, him, Zach and Lemon, that would be a crazy [group]."
