Hours after the USC Trojans announced an "indefinite leave of absence" for former head coach Steve Sarkisian, USC lost the commitment of star prep linebacker Daelin Hayes. After than, top tight end target Isaac Nauta changed one of his official visits from USC to Alabama.
It got worse when Sarkisian was officially fired the next day, as five-star OLB Mique Juarez backed out on his commitment from the program.
According to SI.com's Chris Johnson, while there could very well still be defections in the mix for a class that is ranked 14th in the country by Rivals.com, a major wave of decommitments may not be in the cards:
"The 14 prospects in the class of 2016 who remain committed to the Trojans have offered mixed reactions. Four-star offensive lineman Frank Martin said he plans to take visits “just to see other schools just in case this plan doesn't work out,” and four-star wide receiver Velus Jones tweeted he is “still verbally committed but my recruitment is open.” Those may not be strong endorsements (it’s not surprising players would reevaluate their recruitments in the wake of a coaching change), but it seems unlikely USC’s 2016 haul will fall apart before National Signing Day on Feb. 3."
USC should have a better shot at retaining the nine prospects currently residing in California than those based out of state. While that's not to say they won't retain most of their out-of-state commits, the Sarkisian situation should open up avenues for other in-state schools to attempt flips.
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