Mater Dei 4-Star Recruit Danny Lang Makes Commitment Move

Mater Dei (Calif.) four-star recruit Danny Lang has set a commitment date for the summer. The local cornerback target is a high priority target for the USC Trojans. They signed four recruits from his high school in the last cycle.

Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley before an NCAA football game with the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Mater Dei (Calif.) four-star cornerback Danny Lang has set a commitment date. Lang will announce his pledge on his birthday, July 2, he told 247Sports. 

Lang, the No. 57 overall prospect and No. 9 cornerback, per the 247Sports Rankings is a high priority target for the Trojans in the 2027 cycle. 

Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley before an NCAA football game with the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Because of his close proximity to campus, Lang was a frequent visitor at USC last year. He was on campus multiple times in the spring and then attended one of the Trojans camps in the summer for two days, where he worked out in front of cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed and secondary coach Doug Belk. 

Lang attended four games at the Coliseum in the fall, which included him watching practice twice the week of the Trojans regular season finale against UCLA. He wore USC sleeves during one of Mater Dei’s playoff games this season. 

Playing on one of the premier high schools in the country, Lang has been a standout each of the past two seasons. The local defensive back is rated as a cornerback but his position versatility on the backend is enticing for the Trojans.

Trovon Reed Effect 

Archbishop Hoban's Elbert 'Roc' Hill IV runs with the ball in the first half of a football game against Central York at Panthers Stadium on Oct. 18, 2024, in Springettsbury Township. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Reed has been instrumental in the Trojans recruiting success since he joined Riley’s staff last January. He does a phenomenal job of creating relationships with recruits because of his relatability. Reed, a former five-star recruit himself, won a national championship with Auburn in 2010. 

And prior to becoming the cornerbacks coach at UCF in 2024, he served as the director of football and recruiting relations at his alma mater and played a vital role in the Tigers reeling in elite recruiting classes. 

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This past cycle, Reed landed five-star cornerback Elbert Hill, four-star Peyton Dyer and three-star Jayden Crowder. And then over the weekend he landed former Iowa State cornerback Jontez Williams, the No. 1 ranked cornerback, per the 247Sports Transfer Rankings. 

Lang is competing in the Navy All-American Bowl this week. He is one of three local 2027 cornerbacks that sit atop USC’s recruiting board that is down in San Antonio, including Lang’s teammate, four-star Aaryn Washington and Gardena (Calif.) Serra four-star Duvay Williams. 

Reed is leading the charge for all three and has put the Trojans in position to keep them from leaving the state of California. 

Restoring Mater Dei Pipeline 

USC Trojans general manager Chad Bowden hired from Notre Dame Fighting Irish | USC Trojans Video Youtube

For years, Mater Dei was a recruiting pipeline under legendary high school coach Bruce Rollinson, a USC alum. But when he retired in 2022, Riley’s first season at USC, that went away. 

It was also the last time the Trojans landed a recruit from the Orange County school that is flooded with Power 4 talent, located less than 45 miles from campus, when they signed three. 

General manager Chad Bowden made it a priority to restore their pipeline and the Trojans signed four blue-chip recruits from Mater Dei in the 2026 cycle in five-star tight end Mark Bowman and four-star receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui and linebacker Shaun Scott. 

Washington will announce his commitment at Navy All-American Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 10 and could be USC’s first commitment in the 2027 cycle.