4-Star Recruit Jonas Williams ‘Locked In’ With USC Trojans, Earns Elite 11 Finals Invite

Lincoln-Way East (Ill.) four-star quarterback and USC Trojans commit Jonas Williams was down in Nashville this past weekend competing in the Elite 11 Regional event.

After a standout performance, Williams punched his ticket to the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles. The Elite 11 is a prestigious three-day competition that features high-level training for 20 of high school football’s top signal-callers. The highly competitive event will take place in June.

Williams is the No. 8 quarterback and No. 89 overall prospect according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He flipped his commitment from Oregon in late February after a strong push from the Trojans staff.

Oct 28, 2023; Berkeley, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley before the game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

USC general manager Chad Bowden had been pushing to flip Williams when he was at Notre Dame. So, when the Trojans hired Bowden in late January, they ramped up their pursuit of Williams and were able to pull the highly touted signal-caller away from the Ducks.

Several schools have been pushing for Williams but the Illinois native is “pretty locked in with USC,” he told On3 over the weekend.

Williams is one of many commits from the Trojans No. 1 ranked recruiting class that have put on their recruiting hat in an effort bring more blue-chip prospects to Los Angeles in what has the makings to be a program-altering class.

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USC is up to 23 commitments, which includes six recruits ranked inside the On3 Industry Rankings top-100 overall prospects. The Trojans are trending for several others, one of which is Folsom (Calif.) five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons.

Lyons, the younger brother of USC tight end Walker Lyons, is the No. 4 quarterback, No. 10 overall prospect and No. 1 recruit in the state of California. Lyons wore a USC towel while he competed in the Rivals Camp Series in Los Angeles last month and visited campus twice this spring. The highly touted signal-caller has been a frequent visitor on campus over the years.

The Trojans have built a pipeline between them and the Northern California powerhouse. Walker starred at Folsom before he suited up at USC. They hold a commitment from Lyons’ high school teammate, 2026 four-star offensive tackle Vlad Dyakonov. Freshman tight end Taniela Tupou signed with the Trojans in the 2025 cycle and enrolled early to participate in spring ball.

St. Bonaventure's Dylan Dunst tackles Folsom quarterback Ryder Lyons during the fourth quarter of the CIF-State Division 1-A state championship bowl at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. St. Bonaventure lost 20-14. | JOE LUMAYA/SPECIAL TO THE STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK

USC has signed two quarterbacks in the same cycle twice since 2015. However, this situation would be different. Lyons will take an LDS mission following high school and not enroll until January of 2027.

If USC can land both quarterbacks, it would put the Trojans quarterback room in a great position moving forward — perhaps give them top quarterback room in the country.

Corona Centennial (Calif.) five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet signed with the Trojans in the 2025 class. The local product has been on campus since bowl practice and USC coach Lincoln Riley has spoken very highly of Longstreet since he joined the team.