Subscribe
Follow Us
USC football watched its top-ranked recruiting class take a massive hit Wednesday. Longtime five-star verbal commit Xavier Griffin parted ways with USC. Now a Big Ten rival of the Trojans is hosting him first as he reignites his college football recruiting period.
The standout linebacker from Carrollton, Georgia has a lineup of visits coming, which he shared to Hayes Fawcett of On3. First on his list? A trip to Columbus to visit the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The defending national champions get to sell Griffin first. Which also means OSU can sell him this pitch: The Buckeyes travel to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2026. Then host USC inside the Horseshoe in 2027.
Ohio State, though, has other powers attempting to sway Griffin. Alabama hosts Griffin on June 6. Texas rolls out its red carpet for Griffin the following week. He then flies to Tallahassee two days later to check out Florida State.
Reason 5-star decommitted from USC revealed
The Trojans rode a major recruiting wave before the Griffin decision. USC beat out Miami and Michigan for four-star linebacker Shaun Scott. Wide receiver Luc Weaver chose USC over three Big Ten rivals to help start May's recruiting swing for the Trojans.
But Griffin rises as the first massive loss in the Land of Troy. Why did the prized five-star and USC sever ties?
Recruiting insider for 247Sports Tom Loy dove into the factors that led to the decommit.
“Griffin would take visits and meet with coaches at school. That didn't necessarily sit well with members of the USC coaching staff,” Loy shared.
Loy added how Griffin operated “behind the scenes” when he chatted with other coaches and took other visits.
“That said, both sides decided that it was best to part ways and move in another direction,” Loy said.
Griffin is the nation's top linebacker and state of Georgia's top prospect. USC still has a firm grip on the No. 1 ranking for the '26 class. But now Ohio State gets the first crack at coaxing Griffin to come over.
