Published Dec 1, 2020
Where USC's commits landed on the new 2021 Rivals250 rankings
Ryan Young  •  TrojanSports
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The new 2021 Rivals250 rankings are out, and a couple of USC prospects saw major surges in their national ranking.

Ultimately, many others were hurt by not having their high school football seasons out west this fall to showcase themselves and thus slid a bit in the rankings as other players around the country capitalized on the chance to improve their stock.

Here's the full breakdown of where USC's commits landed in the latest national rankings:

RELATED: Mind of Mike: Farrell's thoughts on the updated Rivals250 rankings | See the full Rivals250 here

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USC's commits in the Rivals250 

-4-star QB Jake Garcia (Grayson HS/Loganville, Ga.) -- No. 42 (down 15 spots)

-4-star TE Michael Trigg (Carrollwood Day/Tampa, Fla.) -- No. 68 (not previously in Rivals250)

-4-star WR Kyron Ware-Hudson (Mater Dei HS) -- No. 86 (down 11)

-4-star QB Miller Moss (Bishop Alemany HS) -- No. 107 (down 6)

-4-star CB Prophet Brown (Monterey Trail HS/Elk Grove, Calif.) -- No. 117 (down 8)

-4-star S Calen Bullock (Muir HS) -- No. 131 (down 9)

-4-star LB Julien Simon (Lincoln HS/Tacoma, Wash.) -- No. 144 (down 20)

-4-star RB Brandon Campbell (Katy HS/Houston, Texas) -- No. 192 (down 7)

-4-star WR Michael Jackson III (Desert Pines HS/Las Vegas, Nev.) -- No. 196 (up 39)

-4-star ATH (CB) Jaylin Smith (Bishop Alemany HS) -- No. 220 (down 14)

-4-star OT Mason Murphy (JSerra HS) -- No. 229 (down 17)

-4-star S Xamarion Gordon (Warren HS) -- No. 237 (down 6)

**Two other public commits are in the Rivals250, but we are not expecting 4-star WR Quay Davis (No. 36) or 4-star OLB Ma'a Gaoteote (No. 160) to end up in the Trojans final class.

**No other Trojans commits outside the Rivals250 had their star rating change.

Other takeaways ...

-USC is ranked No. 5 overall in the Rivals recruiting rankings behind Alabama, Ohio State, LSU and Pac-12 foe Oregon, but that ranking will adjust a bit if USC loses a couple of those public commits that we expect to fall out of the class.

-Top USC target Korey Foreman, the 5-star defensive end from Corona Centennial HS, dropped from the No. 1 overall ranking to No. 3, behind his close friend and 5-star DT Maason Smith (Houma, La.) and 5-star OT JC Latham (Bradenton, Fla.), who is committed to Alabama. USC is also still pursuing 5-star DE J.T. Tuimoloau (Bellevue, Wash.), who dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 in the rankings; 4-star OLB Raesjon Davis (Mater Dei HS), who drops 10 spots to No. 63 overall; and 4-star CB Ceyair Wright (Loyola HS), who drops 7 spots to No. 102.

-Meanwhile, there's the case of QB Jaxson Dart, who surged all the way from 3-star status to a 4-star ranked No. 105 overall in the class. Even though USC already has two 4-star QB commits, it is aggressively recruiting Dart, who went in-depth with us two weeks ago about his recruitment.

-In terms of the ones who got away, OT Kingsley Suamataia (Orem, Utah), who committed to Oregon over USC in a recruiting battle that was closer than most realized, got the bump to 5-star status in the latest rankings and checks in at No. 23 on the list (up 40 spots). DE Aaron Armitage (Blairstown, N.J.), who went down to the wire in his decision between USC and Stanford, where he ultimately committed, dropped 10 spots to No. 128 after not having a senior season this fall. And 4-star LB Ethan Calvert (Oaks Christian), who recently picked Utah over USC, climbed 15 spots to No. 140. Those three were the especially close calls that stung for Trojans fans. Meanwhile, 4-star CB Philip Riley (Valrico, Fla.), who flipped from Notre Dame to USC and then back to Notre Dame in a dizzying flurry this fall, fell out of the Rivals250.