WeAreSC’s Top 10 2025 California Prospects (11/21)
Now that USC’s earned commitments from nearly 75% of its 2024 prep recruiting class, we’ll provide an extremely early glimpse of where the Trojans stand with the Top 2025 California ballers.
WeAreSC will update this list of USC recruits and more going forward at the beginning of each month.
As of today, the Trojans actually lead for six of the Top 10 2025 prospects from the Golden Sate. USC leads for nine of On3’s Top 20 California players.
Obviously these lists will change to a certain degree, but we believe several of these guys listed in this article will ultimately sign with the Trojans….if they take care of business this season.
Here we go….Top 10+1 2025 Prospects from California. The list is in no particular, but Dijon Lee and Nasir Wyatt are No. 1 and 2.
NOTE: All of the photos show which the rankings from each network, the On3 Industry Rankings and which schools lead per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM).
Five-Star CB Dijon Lee – Mission Viejo
Although he’s a class of 2025 prospect, Coach Donte Williams has been pursuing 5-Star CB Dijon Lee since he was a sophomore. The Trojans offered in February and the All-American from Mission Viejo (CA) has been on the USC campus at least four times since.
Chad Johnson has some extremely talented cornerbacks at Mission Viejo in Dijon Lee and Treyvon Tolmaire. First thing Lee did when he posted his USC offer on social media was pin the announcement to the top of his Twitter page.
“The USC offer meant a lot, because it’s my hometown and I’ve been talking to coach Donte (Williams) for a while,” said Lee. “I went to a camp there and did really well. So, there’s a lot of chemistry there.
“Me and Coach Donte have a great relationship, he’s a great coach and I love it up there.”
Four-Star Edge Nasir Wyatt – Mater Dei
Class of 2025 standout defender Nasir Wyatt has been to USC more than any other school early in his recruiting process. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound linebacker added multiple unofficial visits to that total this Spring, as the USC coaches continued to strengthen their relationship with the must-get Mater Dei star.
Wyatt is the nation’s No. 37 overall prospect in the 2025 On3 Industry Rankings and part of an absolutely loaded group of linebackers in California. His last USC visit provided an opportunity to get some one-on-one time with USC head coach Lincoln Riley and rush ends coach Roy Manning. At that time the two coaches broke down their plans for the program and the position Wyatt would play in cardinal and gold.
He said his interactions with Manning so far stand out.
“He’s real passionate about what he does,” Wyatt said of Manning. “Real passionate guy. He’s played outside linebacker. It’s in his blood…He’s a technician. He’s a man who likes everything done a specific way and it’s the right way.”
As was the case with Dijon Lee, we were likely submitting a USC prediction for Wyatt if he had an announcement date set, but the 2023 season has set the Trojans back a bit with a few elite players. At the very least, the Trojans are still in a very good spot for Wyatt should the DC hire make a splash.
Four-Star RB Jordon Davison – Mater Dei
One of the key contributors in Mater Dei’s elite offense is 2025 RB Jordon Davison. The local talent has visited USC a total of six times, and plans to come back throughout the 2023 season. The Five-Star talent was most recently on campus at the end of July, where he was joined by several other California recruits.
WeAreSC was able to sit down with Davison and get his thoughts on his relationships with coaches at USC, future visits and more.
Davison’s seen Austin Jones, Travis Dye and Raleek Brown all excel in Lincoln Riley’s pass offense and expects that to continue in 2023.
“They use their running backs in the pass game, the run game, and they just show everything you can do to the NFL scouts. Every running back they have, they move them out to receiver. For me it’s always a big thing to get involved in the passing game.”
Running backs Coach Kiel McDonald is playing a key role in Davison’s recruitment.
“Our relationship has always been strong because he offered me at Utah, I think I was in the 8th grade. But him being one of the ones that came first, it’s always gonna be strong with him.”
Davidson visited USC on Nov. 4.
Four-Star WR Phillip Bell – Mission Viejo
USC was always going to have a shot 6-foot-1, 185-pound standout receiver Phillip Bell, whether living in southern or northern California. Bell claims USC as one of his “dream schools” growing up, but he made an offseason move from Sacramento Christian Brothers down to Mission Hills Alemany. Now he’s enrolled at Mission Viejo and teammates with Dijon Lee.
Now Bell’s right in the Trojans’ backyard and he’s taking advantage of it by getting to USC as often as possible.
“It’s so close now, moving down to SoCal,” Bell told WeAreSC at June’s OT7 Finals. “I feel like, my mom loves the school so much, I love the school so much, I just want to get up there as much as I can.”
USC coaches are certainly only happy to host Bell as often as possible. He’s the nation’s No. 72 overall prospect in the 2025 On3 Industry Rankings and said the USC coaches have flat-out told him he’s a priority recruit for them. Last season, Bell caught 73 passes for 818 yards and 20 touchdowns.
“USC is a great program,” Bell said. “They’re building well. And what they did last year, their first year, was crazy. I really can’t imagine what they’re going to do the next couple of years.”
Four-Star Safety Jadyn Hudson – Pittsburg
Five-Star Pittsburg (CA) Safety Jadyn Hudson received an offer from USC in late January. He announced the news on Twitter.
Hudson is the No. 67 overall prospect and No. 6 Safety in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 6 player in California.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Hudson holds 23 Power Five offers and 27 total as of July 6.
WeAreSC asked Hudson if the USC Spring Game visit moved the needle enough to get him back on campus again in the future?
“Yes it did,” said Hudson. “I’ll be there probably during the season.”
Hudson did visit USC when the Trojans played Arizona earlier this month.
At one time Oregon was thought to be the school to beat, but keep a close eye on Coach Donte and the Trojans with Hudson. We got a ways until 2025 prospects start committing in large numbers, but USC is definitely among the top options for Hudson.
Four-Star LB Noah Mikhail – La Verne
There are already two 2025 southern California Linebackers USC coach Brian Odom has identified as huge targets. Guys considered big-time impact players in college.
One of those is Noah Mikhail from Bonita HS in La Verne (CA). We’ll mention the other SoCal LB below, but Riley Pettijohn is another top priority. However, he’s from McKinney (TX) like 2024 RB commit Bryan Jackson.
Previous to his most recent visit in mid June, Mikhail was in attendance for spring ball and got an up-close look at this USC defense. He, like like everybody paying attention, said USC had something of “a rough year” defensively in 2022. But he saw the major steps forward this spring.
“They’re definitely picking it up in the right direction,” Mikhail said. “I’ve seen some of the spring and it’s definitely been a lot better. I think they have a good chance to be really good this year.”
Mikhail said all the players seemed to be more comfortable in the scheme this spring.
“They’re able to coach the players up better and learn the schemes better, which is ultimately helping them as a defense,” Mikhail said
As of summer 2023, we believe USC will at a minimum be among the top three schools for Mikhail barring some unforeseen collapse this season. In fact, we believe the Trojans may be the school to beat at this point, which is obviously still very early in the process.
Per On3’s Class of 2025 rankings, Mikhail is the No. 49 overall sophomore prospect in the country. He also checks in as the third-ranked linebacker and No. 4 player in California in his class.
Mikhail and his family visited USC several times this summer and fall.
Four-Star LB Madden Faraimo – J Serra
As mentioned above, there are two California Linebackers from the class of 2025 USC is at the top of its recruiting board…the wish list. Noah Mikhail is one and J Serra LB Madden Faraimo is the other. Landing those two would be considered a jackpot for the Trojans.
WeAreSC hasn’t communicated often with Faraimo since transferring from Cathedral Catholic is San Diego, but we do know his interest in USC is high.
The Skinny: Madden Faraimo‘s list of offers is up to 19 and will continue to grow throughout his junior and senior seasons. A few standout offers include USC, Ohio St., Oregon, Washington, Stanford, Utah, Colorado, Miami, Tennessee, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State and UCLA.
Faraimo attended the USC vs UCLA game on Saturday 11/18.
Four-Star WR Marcus Harris – Mater Dei
The explanation for USC not listed among the favorites for big-time Mater Dei WR Marcus Harris is simple, the Trojans haven’t offered. If USC had offered Harris, it would’ve almost certainly been the school to beat. Harris wouldn’t have been a lock for USC, but it’s his dream school and his interest has been extremely high.
An offer from USC wouldn’t only put the Trojans in a strong spot for Harris, On3’s No. 32 overall 2025 prospect, but it would be a tremendous help in getting Jordon Davison. The two are very close and while they’re not a “package deal”, they could be with the right school and football program.
I would’ve offered Harris a year ago and he’s far better looking player now than he was then. His ceiling is also nowhere near being reached at this point. But USC is picky with receivers and can be.
Four-Star TE Kaleb Edwards – El Dorado Hills (CA)
The Skinny: Nevada was the first school to an extend an offer to Kaleb Edwards last June. He currently sits with offers including UCLA, Oregon, ASU, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, San Jose St., Oregon State, and Washington.
We expect Edwards’s offer number to eclipse double digits by the end of the season. USC has already offered four tight ends in Emaree Winston, Bear Tenney, Jack VanDorselaer and Ethan Barbour, but Edwards is on USC’s radar. That said, we believe the four tight end targets Zach Hanson and the Trojans have offered will all visit a second time at some point. We expect Tenney and Barbour to attend games this fall. VanDorselaer visited during the season.
Four-Star QB Husan Longstreet – Centennial
It came as a mild surprise this offseason when 4-Star 2025 QB Husan Longstreet transferred from Inglewood to Corona Centennial. The Huskies have had some impressive quarterbacks over the years, including Stanford QB Tanner McKee. The Eagles selected McKee No. 188 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
As of August 16, two before Centennial opens the 2023 season vs Mater Dei at home, Longstreet has earned scholarship offers from Michigan, Utah, Washington, Ole Miss, Florida St., Miami, Purdue, Minnesota, Colorado, Boston College, SMU, Washington St., BYU, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Oregon, Grambling State, Jacksonville St., Georgia St., Missouri, San Jose St., UNLV, Jackson St. and Colorado St.
With a lot of buzz surrounding elite class of 2026 QB Julian Lewis reclassifying to 2025, we believe he’s THE TARGET right now for Lincoln Riley and USC. And Lewis is committed to the Trojans and ready to recruit.
Four-Star Eastman (GA) QB Darrell Johnson is the only 2025 QB prospect with an offer from the Trojans.
We haven’t seen every top 2025 quarterback perform in person yet, but Longstreet’s command of the ball is as impressive and anyone we’ve seen, regardless of class. His arm is extremely live and his accuracy is on point. If USC were to offer, we believe the Trojans would be hard to beat for Longstreet.
Four-Star QB Akili Smith – San Diego (CA)
There was no program recruiting San Diego (Calif.) Lincoln four-star quarterback Akili Smith Jr. that he was more familiar with than Oregon.
As the son of former Ducks star and NFL top-5 pick Akili Smith, Akili Jr. grew up in Ducks gear and has been around the program on multiple occasions. This past weekend marked another visit for him and his family to Eugene, but this one was different.
On July 29, right before the Ducks’ “Saturday Night Lights” football camp, Akili Jr. — The No. 8 passer in the 2025 class — committed to playing for Dan Lanning and Co. On July 31 Smith publicly announced for the Ducks.
“It means the world to me to be committed to Oregon,” he told On3. “It has always been my dream to be a Duck. “Since I have been able to walk, my dad has had me in Oregon stuff, I have watched a lot of Oregon games and this is a dream coming true. I get to carry on my dad’s legacy, start my own legacy and at the same time play for a great program like Oregon and push for my dreams to reach the NFL.”
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