4-star Texas ILB target Maninoa Tufono announces commitment to USC

The Texas Longhorns’ search for an inside linebacker pledge this cycle continues.

Head coach Tom Herman’s program was firmly in the mix to fill that void on Monday with Honolulu (Hi.) Punahou product Maninoa Tufono bringing his recruitment to a close, but the four-star talent ultimately sided with USC over Texas, Washington, UCLA, and LSU.

The nation’s No. 6 inside linebacker prospect, Tufono made a summer trip to the Forty Acres for the Longhorns Heat Wave pool party and weeks later, he named Texas as one of his finalists in mid-July.

At the time, the overall expectation was that Tufono was Pac-12 bound. However, the narrative altered a bit down the stretch and a trio of Crystal Ball…