USC Secures Several Star Recruits on Signing Day
With NCAA scholarship restrictions putting USC's emphasis on quality over quantity, the Trojans announced a strong 2012 recruiting class on Tuesday but did miss out on several high profile players.
Headlining the class are wide receiver Nelson Agholor and offensive linemen Zach Banner and Jordan Simmons, all of whom are rated as five star recruits by Rivals.com.
USC signed three of the nation's top prep offensive linemen in Banner, Simmons and Max Tuerk but were spurned by tackles Andrus Peat and Kyle Murphy, who signed with Stanford.
Here are the players that have signed with the team:
Darreus Rogers- WR (Compton, Calif./Carson HS)
Leonard Williams- DE (Daytona Beach, Fla./Mainland HS)
Nelson Agholor- WR (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep)
Gerald Bowman- S (Philadelphia/Pierce CC)
Devian Shelton- DB (Inglewood, Calif./Inglewood HS)
Zach Banner- OL (Puyallup, Wash./Lakes)
Jordan Simmons- OL (Inglewood, Calif./Crespi HS)
Jabari Ruffin- LB (Downey, Calif./Downey HS)
Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick- TE (Rocklin, Calif./Whitney HS)
Kevon Seymour- DB (Pasadena, Calif./Muir HS)
Max Tuerk- OL (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Santa Margarita HS)
Jaheel Pinner- RB (Rancho Santa Margartia, Calif./Mission Viejo HS)
Scott Starr- LB (Norco, Calif./Norco HS)
DeVante Wilson- DE (Corona, Calif./Corona HS)
Chad Wheeler- OL (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica HS)
Morgan Breslin- DE (Walnut Creek, Calif./Diablo Valley CC)
Josh Shaw- S (Palmdale, Calif./University of Florida)
Starr, Wilson, Wheeler, Breslin and Shaw all enrolled for the spring semester at USC and don't count against the Trojans' 15 scholarship limit. As of now, USC has used only 12 of its 15 scholarships available for players enrolling in the fall.
USC quarterback Matt Barkley tweeted, "Love my new big guys Zach Banner, Max Tuerk, & Jordan Simmons!! I'm not gunna get touched this year!"
This season marks the first of three consecutive years that USC will lose 10 scholarships as a result of NCAA sanctions.
