What QB Bryce Young's commitment flip to Alabama means for USC

That was quick. As of a few weeks ago, 2020 4-star quarterback Bryce Young still did not have an Alabama visit locked in as the Crimson Tide continued to aggressively pursue the Mater Dei HS standout who had long been committed to USC.

Well, Young decided to visit Alabama this past weekend and tweeted Sunday afternoon that he has flipped his commitment to the Crimson Tide.

Young, who had been committed to the Trojans since July of 2018, was the prize of USC's 2020 class, which was already ranked way down at No. 52 nationally with him. He was one of just three 4-star prospects among the 12 commits in the class. His loss drops USC's class 11 spots to No. 63 as of now.

Equally significant, it also impacts the Trojans' sales pitch to top uncommitted offensive prospects. Having Young on board was a compelling component in selling the future to fellow 2020 prospects who know him well from the high school, 7-on-7 and camp circuits.

It's a damaging blow for the Trojans in a multitude of ways. Here's a closer look at the ramifications of Young's flip to Alabama.

Rivals recruiting analyst Adam Gorney weighs in on the news:

What is your reaction to Bryce Young's flip to Alabama?

Gorney: "It's definitely not unexpected. There were rumblings in the last few weeks that Alabama was becoming much more of a player. They had continued recruiting him. Sark (former USC head coach and now Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian) absolutely loves him, thinks he's the best quarterback in this class. So he visited there this weekend and it kind of became apparent that this was much more than just than a possibility of happening. I think it hurts USC in the sense that he's a very dynamic quarterback, he's a play-making quarterback and he fits Graham Harrell's offense perfectly, but they're still fine at the position. JT Daniels will come back, he'll have a lot of years left, he will be battling [Kedon] Slovis for that starting job. It's certainly not good to lose someone of his caliber, but they're not really hurting at quarterback."

Q: How damaging is this overall for USC's 2020 class?

Gorney: "It is a little concerning because the Gary Bryants of the world or LV Bunkley-Shelton, the wide receivers knew Bryce really well -- they played 7-on-7 with him, they knew him from the camp circuit, he's a really well-known guy around the scene. So for a coach that's doing everything to keep his job to lose a quarterback who could possibly end up as a 5-star, especially one that -- I wouldn't say a feeder school to USC, but there are plenty of guys over the years from Mater Dei that go to USC, especially at quarterback. So that definitely hurts."

When USC took Young's commitment in July of 2018, it stopped recruiting other quarterbacks in the class. It didn't pursue St. John Bosco HS standout DJ Uiagalelei, the No. 1 pro-style QB who committed to Clemson, or other standouts in the class as it had its guy in Young -- the No. 1-ranked dual-threat QB in the class.

Quarterbacks usually commit early, like Young did, as programs like to lock in that position and build around it, and so the QB can have an impact on attracting prospects to join him.

So this leaves USC in a particularly tough bind with the early signing period just a few months away. The Trojans would be making a late push for any QB in this class. It will be interesting to see how they approach this.

Here are the only uncommitted 4-star QBs remaining in the 2020 class:

-CJ Stroud (Rancho Cucamonga HS) -- No. 12 pro-style QB, No. 221 overall prospect

-Malik Hornsby (Fort Bend Marshall HS/Missouri City, Texas) -- previously committed to UNC, No. 6 dual-threat QB, No. 231 overall prospect

-Demeatric Crenshaw (Pickerington Central HS/Pickerington, Ohio) -- No. 7 dual-threat QB, not ranked in Rivals250

-Jalen Suggs (Minnehaha Academy/Minneapolis, Minn.) -- No. 10 dual-threat QB, not ranked in Rivals250

If USC was going to make a play for a 2020 QB and didn't think it could flip an already committed prospect, Stroud would be the logical target. He told Rivals earlier this month that he was eyeing trips to Ohio State, Baylor and Oregon with Penn State and Auburn also considerations. It would seem logical that USC gets involved now.

As Adam Gorney noted, though, just as important are the Trojans' pursuits of 4-star wide receivers Gary Bryant (Corona Centennial HS), LV Bunkley-Shelton (Gardena Serra HS) and keeping 4-star WR commit Joshua Jackson (Narbonne HS) in the fold. USC had a lot of work to do still with Bryant and Bunkley-Shelton, and this is an unexpected wrinkle they'll have to overcome now in those recruitments. Ultimately, they'll simply need to sell the strength of having both JT Daniels and/or Kedon Slovis in place for the forseeable future.

What this should do is make USC even more attractive to the 2021 QB prospects, who now see a less stacked succession order at the position.

It would not be a surprise to see one of USC's primary 2021 QB targets make a commitment decision sometime soon and lock themselves in with the Trojans to secure their spot much the same way Young did well over a year ago.

Here are the four 2021 QBs USC is prioritizing:

-Preston Stone (Parish Episcopal School/Dallas, Texas) -- No. 1 dual-threat QB, No. 23 overall prospect. Rivals' Sam Spiegeleman reported last week that Texas, SMU and LSU were among the schools generating the most buzz in Stone's recruitment of late. But Stone said in July he was "really excited about USC" and Graham Harrell's offense.

-Jake Garcia (Narbonne HS) -- No. 5 pro-style QB, No. 24 overall prospect. Garcia was in the Coliseum for USC's win over Stanford earlier this month and told TrojanSports.com that Harrell's arrival has made the Trojans even more intriguing for him. Miami and LSU are believed to also be very high on his list.

-Miller Moss (Bishop Alemany HS) -- No. 10 pro-style QB, No. 22 overall prospect. Moss was also at USC's win over Stanford and was on campus a couple of times this summer to spend time with the coaches. There is a strong connection here, which he discussed with TrojanSports.com after his most recent visit.

-Behren Morton (Eastland HS/Eastland, Texas) -- No. 8 dual-threat QB, not ranked in the Rivals250. USC offered him last April and he expressed his mutual interest at that time.

Losing Young's commitment is a big blow in general for USC.

But in terms of the actual quarterback depth chart, USC can weather this. Due to his season-ending knee injury and redshirt year, Daniels still has three years of eligibility left, as does Slovis, who took the reins of the offense in Daniels' absence. Matt Fink has another year of eligibility and proved Friday night against Utah that he can be asset to the depth chart.

This sets up an interesting QB competition for next summer between Daniels, assuming he's healthy by then, and Slovis. One of those two should man the position for the next three years, giving the Trojans time to develop whichever 2021 QB (or QBs) they sign.

USC would surely like to have four scholarship quarterbacks, and maybe that prompts the addition of a grad transfer if the Trojans can land a new 2020 commitment, but in terms of the top of the depth chart the program remains in good shape.

There is one other matter to consider. USC opens the 2020 season against Alabama in Arlington, Texas. With Crimson Tide Heisman Trophy candidate Tua Tagovailoa expected to enter the NFL draft after this season, it's very possible Young wins the starting job and is at QB playing against the Trojans in that game.

That prospect makes this that much tougher for USC and its fans.