HONOLULU -- The narrative around quarterback Husan Longstreet's USC recruitment was all about how it ended -- the Trojans' strong late push, fellow elite QB recruit Julian Lewis exiting the class to end up at Colorado and the coaches getting Longstreet to flip from Texas A&M after hosting him for the game against Nebraska.

But the seeds of his USC decision started way, way before all of that.

"When I first moved to California I visited USC, and growing up watching Amon-Ra St. Brown and JT Daniels play, that was kind of like my role models in California. I always watched them play at Mater Dei. That influenced that, and them going to USC ... it felt like home watching them play, watching Amon-Ra, because they're from California. And then just always going to USC games, it kind of just held an impact on me," Longstreet told TrojanSports.com Sunday after arriving in Hawaii to take part in the Polynesian Bowl all-star game.