WeAreSC recruiting reporter Blair Angulo answers reader questions in his mailbag every Friday. Have a USC recruiting question of your own? Submit it here.
Zack Smith (Garden Grove, Calif.): Montravius Adams tweeted at Kenny Bigelow that he's interested in USC. What should we make of this? Isn't the class full? Thanks!
It appears that four-star defensive tackle Montravius Adams (Vienna, Ga./Dooly County) created a Twitter account this week (@montravius_m), and his second tweet was directed at the USC commit Bigelow: “USC really opening my eyes bro. I can see myself playing in Cali.” The interest Adams has in the Trojans appears to be genuine and, yes, USC already have taken 18 commitments in the current class, but if the nation’s third-ranked defensive tackle comes calling, you recruit him and you recruit him hard.
USC is in great shape at the position even without Adams, with commitments from Bigelow and Eddie Vanderdoes, the second- and fifth-rated defensive tackles in this class, respectively. Adding another big body -- Adams is listed at 6-foot-3 and 281 pounds -- would be a tremendous haul for defensive line coach Ed Orgeron.
Craig H. (Venice Beach, Calif.): Montravius Adams, Trojan?!
A hot topic, I know. It’s a longshot, but this is recruiting and stranger things have happened.
On the topic of official visits, Adams told ESPN Recruiting Nation earlier this week, “the only ones I know I want to take are still Oregon, USC and LSU.”
Adams could be feeling things out and maybe wants nothing more than a free trip to Los Angeles, but Orgeron would cherish the opportunity to impress. For what it’s worth, I think Adams ends up in the Southeast somewhere. With limits on scholarships and needs elsewhere, it’s difficult to imagine USC taking three tackles in this class.
Willis Chang (via @wchang34): We have zero five-star commits. Did Bigelow, (Su’a) Cravens or (Max) Browne not make the grade?
Only seven recruits have been labeled with a five-star rating by ESPN this year and none of them are USC commits. Bigelow (second-ranked DT), Cravens (top-ranked safety) and Browne (second-ranked pocket passer) headline a class that currently sits atop the recruiting rankings. All 18 commits are four-star recruits, and all but one are ranked in the ESPN 300.
Jim (L.A.): Hi, Blair. Of the recruits you’ve seen in person this season, which has impressed you the most? Fight on!
That’s a difficult one to answer given all the talent in this class, but if I had to name one it’d be offensive lineman Nico Falah of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco. I saw him last fall, too, but his improvement from then was striking. Falah absolutely manhandled the Lakewood (Calif.) defensive line on Aug. 31, at one point shoving a 6-foot-8 opponent out of the way and paving the way for a big offensive night.
Coming in a close second would be Cravens, who was explosive on Sept. 14 against fellow USC commit Kylie Fitts and Redlands (Calif.) East Valley.