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Nov 29, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley leads the Spirit of Troy marching band in a rendition of Tribute to Troy after teh game against the UCLA Bruins at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
Importance of Austin Attalah to USC Trojans<\/p>\n
USC general manager Chad Bowden has shifted the Trojans’ recruiting strategy to focus more on local recruits from California, and Attalah is arguably one of the most important West Coast prospects in the class of 2028. Not only does Attalah play a premium position, USC can continue its trend of landing the best talent from the state in consecutive recruiting classes.<\/p>\n
Loading up on California talent appears to be a sound strategy for the Trojans, but USC coach Riley and company must also have success in keeping the best players in the state home. <\/p>\n
Five-star athlete Honor Fa’alave-Johnson is the crown jewel of USC’s 2027 class<\/a>, and he is the No. 2 recruit out of California in both On3’s and 247Sports’ rankings. However, programs like Miami, Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M, and even UCLA now are giving USC some competition for the West Coast’s top recruits. <\/p>\n In the class of 2027, five-star defensive backs Donte’ Wright committed to Miami and JuJu Johnson committed to UCLA. Additionally, Ohio State landed four-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou while four-star defensive lineman Kasi Currie has committed to Texas.<\/p>\n Corona Centennial (Calif.) four-star receiver and USC Trojans commit Quentin Hale | USC Trojans on SI<\/p>\n The Trojans have a number of the top California recruits committed to them in the class of 2027, like four-star wide receiver Quentin Hale and four-star defensive back Danny Lang, but major programs from the SEC and the Big Ten will continue to target West Coast prospects. Even Texas Tech out of the Big 12 has made a push as one of the more aggressive teams in the country when it comes to recruiting high school and the transfer portal.<\/p>\n Five-Star Recruit Austin Attalah Commitment Preview<\/p>\n Speaking of Texas Tech, the Red Raiders seemingly have the momentum heading into Attalah’s decision on Monday.<\/p>\n While Attalah plays high school football at Orange Lutheran in Southern California, he has strong family ties to the state of Texas<\/a> and has been outspoken about his interest in playing college football there as opposed to the West Coast.<\/p>\n Jul 23, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n As a result, Texas and Texas Tech have been perceived as the front runners over USC during Attalah’s recruitment. However, with Attalah only being a junior in high school, there is a long road ahead between his commitment announcement and actually signing with a program. <\/p>\n If Attalah does commit to Texas Tech on Monday, the Trojans will likely still push to flip the talented prospect, like the team did with local offensive line recruit Drew Fielder and the Oregon Ducks in the class of 2026.<\/p>\n Sign up to our free newsletter <\/a>and follow us on Facebook<\/a>, and X<\/a> for the latest news. <\/p>\n![\"usc](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01kr6rzhwt85dhv3jt2p.jpg\" "\\"usc")
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