From USC
--USC FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES 2017 SIGNING CLASS
LOS ANGELES–Eighteen high school football players signed letters of intentwith defending Rose Bowl champion USC today (Feb. 1) and will join the Trojan program in the fall, USC head coach Clay Helton announced.
They are part of a 23-member signing class that includes 5 other players who already enrolled at USC in January and will participate in the upcoming spring practice.
Many recruiting media outlets ranked USC’s class in the national Top 5 (tops in the Pac-12), including ESPN.com, Rivals.com, Scout.com and 247Sports.com. Fourteen players in USC’s signing class are listed among the ESPN 300, including six in the top 100.
This fall’s incoming freshmen are, alphabetically: DB Bubba Bolden of Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas (Nev.); RB Stephen Carr of Summit HS in Fontana (Calif.); LB Hunter Echols of Cathedral HS in Los Angeles (Calif.); LB Juliano Falaniko of Leone HS in Pago Pago, American Samoa; TE Josh Falo of Inderkum HS in Sacramento (Calif.); DB Je’Quari Godfrey of Bishop O’Dowd HS in Oakland (Calif.); WR Randal Grimes of Desert Pines HS in Las Vegas (Nev.); OL Austin Jackson of North Canyon HS in Phoenix (Ariz.); ATH Greg Johnson of Hawkins HS in Los Angeles (Calif.); LB Levi Jones of Westlake HS in Austin (Tex.); TE Erik Krommenhoek of Monte Vista HS in Danville (Calif.); WR Joseph Lewis IV of Hawkins HS in Los Angeles (Calif.); DL Jacob Lichtenstein of Cypress Bay HS in Weston (Fla.); OL Brett Neilon of Santa Margarita HS in Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.); DLBrandon Pili of Westview HS in Portland (Ore.); DB Isaiah Pola-Mao of Mountain Pointe HS in Phoenix (Ariz.); DL Jay Tufele of Bingham HS in South Jordan (Utah); and OL Alijah Vera-Tucker of Bishop O’Dowd HS in Oakland (Calif.).
The 5 players who joined USC last month as freshmen are SNP Damon Johnson of Glendora (Calif.) HS via Citrus JC; LB Tayler Katoa of Layton (Utah) HS; QB Jack Sears of San Clemente (Calif.) HS; DL Marlon Tuipulotu of Central HS in Independence (Ore.); and OL Andrew Vorhees of Kingsburg (Calif.) HS. Katoa, Sears, Tuipulotu and Vorhees graduated a semester early from high school.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome this group of young men to the Trojan Family,” said Helton. “They not only are outstanding players but they are quality people from amazing families.
“In my seven years at USC, I have seen what an unbelievable product we have to offer at USC. I also have seen how important relationships and staff consistency are to the young men who sign with us and to their families. Those qualities make for a strong class. The fact that we did not lose any committed players today and we added some new ones make us all very happy coaches.
“I congratulate our staff for securing such a talented class and I thank them for the hard work that made today possible. This class will join with our returning players to produce a team that will make the Trojan Family proud.”
USC announced only 23 signees today because 2 scholarship Trojans who were on the 2016 team—DT Stevie Tu’ikolovatu and PK Michael Brown—count as part of this 2017 class. They enrolled at USC in the fall of 2016 and were awarded advanced scholarships as allowed by NCAA rule.
USC football season tickets are on sale now and include home games against Texas, UCLA, Stanford, Utah, Arizona, Oregon State and Western Michigan. Call 213-740-GOSC or visit www.usctrojans.com/tickets to get tickets. For priority seating, fans can join the Trojan Athletic Fund and be among a close network of alumni, former student-athletes, parents and friends who provide the funding necessary for Trojan student-athletes to succeed in the classroom and on the field. For more information on supporting the Trojan Athletic Fund and priority seating, call 213-740-4155 or visit www.trojanathleticfund.com .
2017 USC FOOTBALL SIGNEES
SPRING ENROLLMENT
HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS
NAME POS HGT WGT HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL)
Tayler Katoa LB 6-2 220 Layton, UT (Layton)
Jack Sears QB 6-3 195 San Clemente, CA (San Clemente)
Marlon Tuipulotu DL 6-3 295 Independence, OR (Central)
Andrew Vorhees OL 6-6 290 Kingsburg, CA (Kingsburg)
JUNIOR COLLEGE PLAYERS
NAME POS HGT WGT HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL/JUNIOR COLLEGE)
Damon Johnson SNP 6-0 205 Glendora, CA (Glendora/Citrus JC)
FALL ENROLLMENT
HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS
NAME POS HGT WGT HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL)
Bubba Bolden DB 6-3 190 Las Vegas, NV (Bishop Gorman)
Stephen Carr RB 6-0 210 Gardena, CA (Summit)
Hunter Echols LB 6-5 240 Los Angeles, CA (Cathedral)
Juliano Falaniko LB 6-4 220 Pago Pago, American Samoa (Leone)
Josh Falo TE 6-6 235 Sacramento, CA (Inderkum)
Je’Quari Godfrey DB 6-2 185 Oakland, CA (Bishop O’Dowd)
Randal Grimes WR 6-4 205 Las Vegas, NV (Desert Pines)
Austin Jackson OL 6-6 290 Phoenix, AZ (North Canyon)
Greg Johnson ATH 5-11 195 Los Angeles, CA (Hawkins)
Levi Jones LB 6-3 220 Austin, TX (Westlake)
Erik Krommenhoek TE 6-5 245 Danville, CA (Monte Vista)
Joseph Lewis IV WR 6-2 205 Los Angeles, CA (Hawkins)
Jacob Lichtenstein DL 6-5 255 Weston, FL (Cypress Bay)
Brett Neilon OL 6-2 295 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (Santa Margarita)
Brandon Pili DL 6-4 320 Anchorage, AK (Westview (OR))
Isaiah Pola-Mao DB 6-4 200 Phoenix, AZ (Mountain Pointe)
Jay Tufele DL 6-3 295 Salt Lake City, UT (Bingham)
Alijah Vera-Tucker OL 6-4 300 Oakland, CA (Bishop O’Dowd)
--USC FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES 2017 SIGNING CLASS
LOS ANGELES–Eighteen high school football players signed letters of intentwith defending Rose Bowl champion USC today (Feb. 1) and will join the Trojan program in the fall, USC head coach Clay Helton announced.
They are part of a 23-member signing class that includes 5 other players who already enrolled at USC in January and will participate in the upcoming spring practice.
Many recruiting media outlets ranked USC’s class in the national Top 5 (tops in the Pac-12), including ESPN.com, Rivals.com, Scout.com and 247Sports.com. Fourteen players in USC’s signing class are listed among the ESPN 300, including six in the top 100.
This fall’s incoming freshmen are, alphabetically: DB Bubba Bolden of Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas (Nev.); RB Stephen Carr of Summit HS in Fontana (Calif.); LB Hunter Echols of Cathedral HS in Los Angeles (Calif.); LB Juliano Falaniko of Leone HS in Pago Pago, American Samoa; TE Josh Falo of Inderkum HS in Sacramento (Calif.); DB Je’Quari Godfrey of Bishop O’Dowd HS in Oakland (Calif.); WR Randal Grimes of Desert Pines HS in Las Vegas (Nev.); OL Austin Jackson of North Canyon HS in Phoenix (Ariz.); ATH Greg Johnson of Hawkins HS in Los Angeles (Calif.); LB Levi Jones of Westlake HS in Austin (Tex.); TE Erik Krommenhoek of Monte Vista HS in Danville (Calif.); WR Joseph Lewis IV of Hawkins HS in Los Angeles (Calif.); DL Jacob Lichtenstein of Cypress Bay HS in Weston (Fla.); OL Brett Neilon of Santa Margarita HS in Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.); DLBrandon Pili of Westview HS in Portland (Ore.); DB Isaiah Pola-Mao of Mountain Pointe HS in Phoenix (Ariz.); DL Jay Tufele of Bingham HS in South Jordan (Utah); and OL Alijah Vera-Tucker of Bishop O’Dowd HS in Oakland (Calif.).
The 5 players who joined USC last month as freshmen are SNP Damon Johnson of Glendora (Calif.) HS via Citrus JC; LB Tayler Katoa of Layton (Utah) HS; QB Jack Sears of San Clemente (Calif.) HS; DL Marlon Tuipulotu of Central HS in Independence (Ore.); and OL Andrew Vorhees of Kingsburg (Calif.) HS. Katoa, Sears, Tuipulotu and Vorhees graduated a semester early from high school.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome this group of young men to the Trojan Family,” said Helton. “They not only are outstanding players but they are quality people from amazing families.
“In my seven years at USC, I have seen what an unbelievable product we have to offer at USC. I also have seen how important relationships and staff consistency are to the young men who sign with us and to their families. Those qualities make for a strong class. The fact that we did not lose any committed players today and we added some new ones make us all very happy coaches.
“I congratulate our staff for securing such a talented class and I thank them for the hard work that made today possible. This class will join with our returning players to produce a team that will make the Trojan Family proud.”
USC announced only 23 signees today because 2 scholarship Trojans who were on the 2016 team—DT Stevie Tu’ikolovatu and PK Michael Brown—count as part of this 2017 class. They enrolled at USC in the fall of 2016 and were awarded advanced scholarships as allowed by NCAA rule.
USC football season tickets are on sale now and include home games against Texas, UCLA, Stanford, Utah, Arizona, Oregon State and Western Michigan. Call 213-740-GOSC or visit www.usctrojans.com/tickets to get tickets. For priority seating, fans can join the Trojan Athletic Fund and be among a close network of alumni, former student-athletes, parents and friends who provide the funding necessary for Trojan student-athletes to succeed in the classroom and on the field. For more information on supporting the Trojan Athletic Fund and priority seating, call 213-740-4155 or visit www.trojanathleticfund.com .
2017 USC FOOTBALL SIGNEES
SPRING ENROLLMENT
HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS
NAME POS HGT WGT HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL)
Tayler Katoa LB 6-2 220 Layton, UT (Layton)
Jack Sears QB 6-3 195 San Clemente, CA (San Clemente)
Marlon Tuipulotu DL 6-3 295 Independence, OR (Central)
Andrew Vorhees OL 6-6 290 Kingsburg, CA (Kingsburg)
JUNIOR COLLEGE PLAYERS
NAME POS HGT WGT HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL/JUNIOR COLLEGE)
Damon Johnson SNP 6-0 205 Glendora, CA (Glendora/Citrus JC)
FALL ENROLLMENT
HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS
NAME POS HGT WGT HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL)
Bubba Bolden DB 6-3 190 Las Vegas, NV (Bishop Gorman)
Stephen Carr RB 6-0 210 Gardena, CA (Summit)
Hunter Echols LB 6-5 240 Los Angeles, CA (Cathedral)
Juliano Falaniko LB 6-4 220 Pago Pago, American Samoa (Leone)
Josh Falo TE 6-6 235 Sacramento, CA (Inderkum)
Je’Quari Godfrey DB 6-2 185 Oakland, CA (Bishop O’Dowd)
Randal Grimes WR 6-4 205 Las Vegas, NV (Desert Pines)
Austin Jackson OL 6-6 290 Phoenix, AZ (North Canyon)
Greg Johnson ATH 5-11 195 Los Angeles, CA (Hawkins)
Levi Jones LB 6-3 220 Austin, TX (Westlake)
Erik Krommenhoek TE 6-5 245 Danville, CA (Monte Vista)
Joseph Lewis IV WR 6-2 205 Los Angeles, CA (Hawkins)
Jacob Lichtenstein DL 6-5 255 Weston, FL (Cypress Bay)
Brett Neilon OL 6-2 295 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (Santa Margarita)
Brandon Pili DL 6-4 320 Anchorage, AK (Westview (OR))
Isaiah Pola-Mao DB 6-4 200 Phoenix, AZ (Mountain Pointe)
Jay Tufele DL 6-3 295 Salt Lake City, UT (Bingham)
Alijah Vera-Tucker OL 6-4 300 Oakland, CA (Bishop O’Dowd)
