The USC Trojans won a mammoth recruitment in the state of Georgia, gaining the commitment of 2026 five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin. USC has endured some difficult moments with Georgia-based prospects in 2024, losing Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson three months after they had initially committed to USC. Georgia fans and other college football fans reacted to USC’s loss of the two players with a “bless your heart” attitude, as though it was inevitable that USC was never going to hold onto those recruitments. Whether that really was inevitable or not, it remains that the saga reinforced a simple point about modern recruiting: Commitments don’t mean a whole lot. They don’t mean much until the recruit signs on the dotted line and ends his set of visits to other schools. The reality of seeing a recruit visit other schools despite being “committed” to one school was and is a direct contradiction. If a recruit really and truly was committed to a school, he wouldn’t feel the need to visit any other school. USC football has had to learn that lesson the hard way, and it sets the stage for what’s next with Xavier Griffin.
Being a 2026 prospect, Griffin has a lot of time in which he can change his commitment. Everyone will be watching this story, and a lot of people will be reasonably skeptical about USC’s ability to retain Griffin. All of this reflects reality at a program whose team lost five games last year. If USC had gone 11-1 or 10-2 last year, it’s highly unlikely any of this would be happening. The key takeaway: USC needs to be good on the field this fall. That will be the best way to retain recruits.
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