California 4-Star Recruit Davon Benjamin Visiting USC Trojans This Week

Oaks Christian (Calif.) four-star cornerback Davon Benjamin is expected to take an unofficial visit with the USC Trojans beginning on Thursday. Benjamin is the No. 36 overall prospect, No. 4 cornerback and No. 7 player in California according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

With the recruiting dead period over and spring practices underway, recruits from the across are starting to make their way to college campuses.

Despite holding four commitments from players in the secondary, Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) four-star RJ Sermons, Loyola (Calif.) four-star cornerback Brandon Lockhart, St. John Bosco (Calif.) three-star safety Joshua Holland and Sierra Canyon (Calif.) three-star athlete Madden Riordan, Benjamin is high on the Trojans priority list.

USC could take as many as seven defensive backs in their 2026 recruiting class and Benjamin is definitely a player the Trojans are working to keep them from leaving the state of California. Lincoln Riley visited Oaks Christian in early January, and he was also in attendance for their first-round playoff game in November.

Chad Bowden has been in Los Angeles for a little over a month and the Trojans new general manager has put an emphasis on landing recruits in the state of California to help bring the program back to what it once was under Pete Carroll in the 2000s. And signing players like Benjamin will go a long way to achieving the vision Bowden has for the future of the program.

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“We’re going to do everything through the city,” Bowden said. “We’re going to do everything through the state. That’s going to be our primary focus. . . . (I do a lot of research every place I’ve been. Something that we’ve found is back when national championships were won here, when Rose Bowls were won here, you look at Pete Carroll’s classes - 02, 03, 04 - over 80 percent of recruiting classes were from the state of California.

“History repeats itself. It always does, and if you look into fine details of how programs are built and how the place is built and when success has happened, that was a key part of USC being at the top. My plan and my vision is to bring that back and to take care of this state. The state deserves it.”

USC will have to fight off programs like Oregon, Washington and Ohio State for the coveted defensive back. The Trojans do have the luxury of making the 40-mile drive to Westlake Village to visit Benjamin multiple times in the spring as recruiting continues to ramp up. USC is also pursuing a couple of Benjamin’s teammates, four-star running back Deshonne Redeaux and three-star defensive lineman Joseph Peko.

Running back Deshonne Redeaux finds an opening during the first quarter of Oaks Christian's 35-0 Marmonte League win over St. Bonaventure Friday night at Redell Field. | JOE LUMAYA/SPECIAL TO THE STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Benjamin has not announced his official visits for the summer yet, but expect the Trojans to be line to get one from the local prospect.

Other notable defensive backs in Southern California the Trojans are making a strong push for include Mount Miguel five-star Brandon Arrington and Sierra Canyon five-star Havon Finney. Loyola Blakefield (Md.) four-star cornerback Khary Adams and Archbishop (Ohio) five-star cornerback Elbert Hill headline out of prospects in the secondary that are on USC’s wish list.

With the addition of Bowden the Trojans have taken off in recruiting. They hold 11 commitments in the early stages of the 2026 cycle, including five inside the top 100 recruits according to the On3 Industry Rankings, three of which come from Southern California. USC has the top-ranked recruiting class according to 247Sports and Rivals, and the No. 2 spot in the On3 Industry Rankings.

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