USC Trojans Pushing To Flip 4-Star Texas A&M Commit Caleb Tafua

Bishop Montgomery (Calif.) four-star tight end Caleb Tafua committed to Texas A&M over the USC Trojans in December, but that hasn’t stopped coach Lincoln Riley and his staff from continuing to heavily pursue the local prospect.

Zach Hanson, who previously served as the Trojans tight ends coach before taking over for Josh Henson as the offensive line coach has been Tafua’s primary recruiter during this process. Tafua is the No. 287 overall prospect, No. 15 tight end and No. 30 player in the state of California according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With so many blue-chip recruits within a 60-mile radius of USC’s campus, the Trojans have the luxury of bringing them to Los Angeles or visiting them at their high schools frequently. Tafua was on campus for Junior Day in early February and plans to visit again in April for a spring practice before returning in June for his official visit.

The difference in those visits versus previous ones is the addition of general manager Chad Bowden, who has put a premium on Southern California prospects. Tafua will visit Texas A&M a couple more times before the start of his senior season, where they continue to stake their recruiting pitch, but the Trojans are trending towards the four-star according to On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

“We're going to attack it through the state of California,” Bowden said. “It's the best high school football in America. It's played in California. And we're going to do everything that we can get the very best players that are in California to stay here and play for USC."

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The Trojans have applied the same strategy towards Mater Dei (Calif.) five-star tight end Mark Bowman. USC has been gaining momentum for the highly coveted pass-catcher after his most recent visit to campus. Bowman made the short trip to Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago and the Trojans made a lasting impression.

"They show a lot of love and put in a lot of effort,” Bowman told On3. “They want me to be up there as much as possible."

Bowman has a very good relationship with tight ends/inside receivers coach Chad Savage, which has allowed the Trojans become heavily involved in his recruitment since he reclassified from the 2027 class to the 2026 in January.

USC was able to flip Lincoln-Way East (Ill.) four-star quarterback Jonas Williams from west coast foe Oregon in late February and are committed to surrounding him with a talented group of pass-catchers. Williams is very high on Bowman and has been actively recruiting the No. 2 ranked tight end to join him at USC.

The Trojans hold 15 commitments in their No. 1 ranked recruiting class for the 2026 cycle. Nine of those commits are from Southern California. The Trojans signed only seven in-state recruits in the 2024 cycle and five in the 2025 cycle.

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