USC Trojans Recruiting Biggest Winners of Official Visit Season? Talanoa Ili, Peyton Dyer, Luke Wafle

The USC Trojans went into official visit season earlier this month with 27 commitments. They were pushing to increase that number as they aim to sign around 35 high school recruits in the 2026 recruiting class.

Since the turn of the year, USC has been on fire on the recruiting trail, thanks to a brand-new and ambitious personnel staff, elite coaching staff filled with phenomenal recruiters and lucrative NIL collectives.

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Utah State Aggies during the second quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images | Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Trojans landed Duluth (Ga.) four-star cornerback Peyton Dyer on June 8, during their first official visit weekend. Dyer had decommitted from South Carolina just days after he visited USC for the first time in April.

In-state Georgia was in pursuit of the Dyer, hosting him for an official visit the weekend of May 30, but it was USC who landed the Peach State native. The Trojans were pushing to add one more cornerback in the 2026 class after Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) five-star cornerback RJ Sermons reclassified from the 2026 to the 2025 class.

Dyer joins an impressive defensive back recruiting class that includes, five-star cornerback Elbert Hill, four-star cornerback Brandon Lockhart, three-star cornerback Joshua Holland and three-star safety Madden Riordan.

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Kahuku (Hawaii) four-star linebacker Talanoa Ili was on campus the same weekend as Dyer and announced his pledge to USC over crosstown rival UCLA on June 15.

The Trojans began building momentum for Ili after he attended Junior Day in February. From there, each visit to Southern Cal shifted the No. 3 rated linebacker according to 247Sports recruitment in USC’s direction. Defensive end coach Shaun Nua and linebackers coach Rob Ryan visited Ili in Hawaii twice in the month of May.

Ili played at nearby Orange Lutheran (Calif.) the previous three seasons, before transferring to the islands in the spring, and he will return to Southern California to play at the next level. Ili joins Mater Dei (Calif.) four-star Shaun Scott and Cajon (Calif.) three-star Taylor Johnson as the three linebackers committed to USC for the 2026 cycle.

Nov 26, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders senior defensive assistant coach Rob Ryan watches the game against the Kansas City Chiefs Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Trojans seemed like long shots for Hun School (N.J.) four-star EDGE Luke Wafle when he made the cross-country trip to Los Angeles to visit the school for the first time in April, but USC made a strong impression on the top-ranked player in New Jersey. Wafle spent time with numerous defensive coaches, sat in on meetings and watched a spring practice with 150 alumni in attendance.

Defensive line coach Eric Henderson and Nua made their own coast-to-coast trip in May for an in-home visit. Wafle then added the Trojans to his summer official visit list.

Wafle was on campus the weekend of June 13 and after a back-and-forth with Ohio State, he announced his pledge to USC on June 19.

Penn State football head coach James Franklin takes a photo with recruit Luke Wafle and the Wafle family, including defensive tackle Owen Wafle (34), following the Blue-White game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, April 26, 2025, in State College. The White team defeated the Blue team, 10-8. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

He joins a stacked defensive line recruiting class that includes, four-star EDGE Simote Katoanga, four-star defensive lineman Jaimeon Winfield, four-star defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui, four-star EDGE Braeden Jones, three-star defensive lineman Jake Johnson, three-star EDGE Andrew Williams and St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy three-star defensive lineman Malik Brooks.

The Trojans now hold 30 commitments in their No. 1 ranked recruiting class according to every recruiting site.

USC still has their eyes set on a trio of blue-chip recruits on offense in DeSoto (Texas) four-star receiver Ethan “Feaster” Boobie, Panther Creek (Texas) four-star athlete Jalen Lott and IMG Academy (Fla.) four-star IOL Breck Kolojay.

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