USC Football has one of the top recruiting classes in the country for the 2023 cycle, headlined by a pair of 5-stars: QB Malachi Nelson and WR Zach Branch, two of the best players in their class at their respective positions.

Nelson came over with Riley as a high school recruit whom USC’s head coach had recruited when he was the HC at Oklahoma. Now, other schools with legitimate recruiting prowess nationally are coming after the Trojans’ top two verbal commitments for 2023.

On today’s episode of Locked On Pac-12, I’m joined by John Garcia Jr., director of recruiting for Sports Illustrated.

USC isn’t alone on this front, Oregon 5-star WR verbal commit Jurrion Dickey is also receiving a high level of interest from other schools across the country.

Will west coast teams once again be beaten out for blue chip prospects?

We also talk about several players across the Pac-12 who have made verbal commitments and who do not, at this point in time, have active interest to the extent that it could flip their decisions.

USC, in need of a defensive rebuild, landed 4-star S/LB Tackett Curtiss. Stanford might have their next great TE in Walker Lyons.

John provides insight and analysis on both players, as well as a breakdown of Washington Football’s 2023 3-star QB Lincoln Kienholz—the first signal caller to commit to Kalen DeBoer.

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