4-Star Linebacker Recruit Anthony Davis Compares USC Trojans, Texas Longhorns

The USC Trojans already have one linebacker commit in the 2026 cycle from the state of Georgia, Gainesville four-star Xavier Griffin, and are heavy pursuit of another, Grayson four-star Anthony Davis.

Davis is the No. 258 overall prospect and No. 20 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings.

Oct 5, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley looks on during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Davis has several visits lined up for the spring, including a return trip with USC on April 12. Davis will make stops at Alabama, Auburn, Michigan and Ole Miss over a four-week span, staring with the Crimson Tide on March 22. He visited Auburn in January and Ole Miss earlier this month for Junior Day.

Each of those schools, with the exception of Michigan so far, will get an official visit from Davis in the summer. Texas is also in line to get an official visit from Davis. Only Auburn and Alabama have locked in an official date over the summer with Davis.

The highly coveted linebacker made his first trip to Los Angeles in the fall to watch USC play Penn State on Oct. 12. Despite falling to the Nittany Lions, the Trojans made an impression on Davis.

“I was at USC for Penn State, and it was a great experience. It was a two-day visit and they went over a lot of things with me," Davis told On3. "USC has a plan for me, they showed me how I would fit it and it was great.”

Several USC coaches stopped by Davis’ school in late January, including Lincoln Riley, defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, defensive backs coach Doug Belk and linebackers coach Rob Ryan as they ventured around Georgia. Expect them to be back in Georgia when the dead period ends in the beginning of March. The Trojans have worked to establish a recruiting footprint in the Peach State over the past couple of cycles.

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Several SEC schools are pushing for the recruit, including the Texas Longhorns and coach Steve Sarkisian.

“They showed a lot of love [at the Kentucky game] and they explained to me how I am wanted and why they want me," Davis told On3. "The best part of the visit was how they made it feel at home. Texas has a great environment and great people.”

However, the Trojans are having a lot of success in the state of Georgia.

USC signed four players from Georgia in their 2025 class, including four-star offensive tackle Alex Payne, three-star safety Kendarius Reddick, three-star cornerback James Johnson and three-star safety Stephen Miller.

The Trojans head into the spring practice very thin and inexperienced at linebacker and have made that position a priority in the 2026 cycle. Davis’ high school teammate, five-star Tyler Atkinson will take an unofficial visit USC the same weekend in April. The top-ranked linebacker has not scheduled his official visits for the summer yet.

Orange Lutheran (CA) four-star linebacker Talanoa Ili remains high on the Trojans priority list. The local Orange County product was part of an impressive list of recruits that made their way to Los Angeles for USC’s Junior Day event earlier this month.

“The junior day at USC was really good," Ili told 247Sports. "It was great meeting all the coaches there — coach Lincoln Riley, coach Rob Ryan, coach D’Anton Lynn, coach Shaun Nua, coach Dogg (Aaron Amaama), and new general manager Chad Bowden. All the conversations really stood out to me.

"I would say USC has become a much bigger player in my recruitment after this visit."

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