The college football recruiting game can be vicious, and Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs learned this the hard way. After being committed to the University of Georgia for well over a year, five-star defensive tackle Justus Terry flipped his commitment and will instead be heading west and joining the USC Trojans for the 2025 college football season. Terry, a Manchester, Georgia native, is the #13 prospect — and #2 defensive lineman — in the 2025 class according to 247 Sports.

With still a year of high school football to be played before he comes to USC, Terry is already 6'5″, 275 lbs., the size of a very large full-grown adult man, and he'll be expected to make an immediate impact upon his arrival in Southern California. But why de-commit from Georgia, where he could've played in his own backyard, to go to a USC program that has had their fair share of defensive struggles over the last few years to say the least.

“It was a no brainer! Coming from a small town I wanted to expand my life as much as possible and I felt like USC is the right place to do that,” Justus Terry shared with Steve Wiltfong of 247 Sports. “Number one businesses school in the country, I want to study business entrepreneurship. Coach Henny [USC co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Eric Henderson] is good with developing players and I want to be a part of this journey with him. I trust his coaching and the way he plans on utilizing me!”

Justus wasn't the only member of the Terry family who shouted out Coach Henny — a former coach on the Los Angeles Rams staff who has worked closely and developed a great relationship with recently retired three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald — when discussing why the 16-year-old decided to make USC his new choice.

“Coach Henny, he’s a good recruiter,” Terry’s father Juanee told Wiltfong. “Very hyper energy. Has great ideas and came and broke plays down and told us he don’t believe in a caliber of kid just being double-teamed and triple-teamed, that’s his job as a defensive line coach and the defensive coordinator to get him out of those situations. You want him one-on-one with an offensive lineman to make the play. That’s what he was saying. We never heard that from a d-line coach or defensive coordinator.”

Putting Justus Terry in a one-on-one situation in the trenches is a frightening proposition for any opposing offensive lineman. Even though Terry can be considered a raw prospect who still needs to develop an array of pass-rush moves to maximize his physical gifts, the physical gifts are clearly there and that's a great place to start. As far as where he could end up, that remains to be seen, and it could come down to the type of coaching that Terry receives during his college years.

“Should be viewed as a possible impact player for a College Football Playoff contender with his tools,” writes Andrew Ivins of 247 Sports. Could be molded into a variety of different things at the next level and already has experience setting up in a variety of alignments. NFL upside.”

The Trojans are coming in 2025 

For Lincoln Riley, flipping Justus Terry is nothing short of a major recruiting coup, and arguably just as big of a signing as Julian Lewis, the #1 quarterback in the 2025 class. But Lewis and Terry aren't the only two notable 2025 recruits heading to Los Angeles. Shortly after Justus Terry announced his decision to de-commit from Georgia, #2 ranked edge rusher Isaiah Gibson committed to join Lincoln Riley's squad as well.

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Lincoln Riley's track record of both recruiting and coaching offensive talent is well-documented, and if the coaching staff additions of D'Anton Lynn and Eric Henderson can yield more results like Terry and Gibson, the Trojans are shaping up to be a force in the… Big Ten?

How's that for conference realignment?