USC Trojans Predicted to Land Elite Defensive Back Recruit After Recent Visit

The USC Trojans hosted several blue-chip recruits during Saturday’s 73-13 victory over Missouri State, including 2027 Junipero Serra (Calif.) four-star cornerback Duvay Williams.

With the 2026 recruiting class just about wrapped, the Trojans have shifted its focus to the 2027 class and Williams is on top of the priority list. After his recent trip to Los Angeles, Rivals has logged a prediction for the Trojans to land the highly coveted defensive back. 247Sports put a crystal ball on USC to land Williams in May.

Re-Building Recruiting Pipeline

USC Trojans Impress Recruits Top-Ranked Prospect California Mater Dei Duvay Williams Jailin Hill Recruiting Big Ten — Aug 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sidelines against the Missouri State Bears in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The two-way star is the No. 18 overall prospect, No. 3 cornerback and No. 1 recruit in the state of California. Williams comes from the same school that has produced recent USC legends such as receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee and cornerback Adoree Jackson. And Williams could be the next.

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Williams attended the Trojans Junior Day event in February and was back on campus a few times in the spring. USC’s coaching staff have also visited Williams twice at his school this calendar year. Cornerback coach Trovon Reed is leading the charge for Williams and the two have built a strong relationship.

Southern Cal does not have a commitment in the 2027 class and have been pushing for Williams to be the first. The Serra product will be back at the Coliseum this month when USC takes on Michigan State in week 4.

Re-building recruiting pipelines in Southern California has been a priority for general manager Chad Bowden since he arrived in January, in an effort to replicate the rosters that former USC coach Pete Carroll built during the program's heyday in the early 2000s. They rebuilt their pipeline with national powerhouse Mater Dei (Calif.), the No. 1 ranked high school team in the country, holding three commitments in the 2026 class.

And under Bowden, USC has built a strong recruiting presence in the Trinity League, a premier high school conference that features schools such as Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita, Orange Lutheran and Servite.

Visitor List

Williams was not the only blue-chip cornerback from Southern California in the 2027 class to attend the Trojans season opener. St. John Bosco four-star Jailen Hill and Murrieta Valley four-star Darius Johnson also made trip out to the Coliseum.

Inglewood (Calif.) four-star defensive lineman Elija Harmon is another high priority target that watched the Trojans 60-point victory over the weekend. Harmon plays his high school football less than 10 miles from campus.

2026 Recruiting Class

USC had 12 commits from its top-ranked 2026 recruiting class in attendance, including Deshonne Redeaux, Andrew Williams, Luc Weaver, Madden Riordan, Ja’Myron Baker, Brandon Lockhart, Shaun Scott, Taylor Johnson, Malik Brooks, Tomuhini Topui, Mark Bowman and Joshua Holland.

All of the aforementioned recruits are within a 60-mile radius of USC, so expect them to be frequent visitors at games in the fall.

Re-Building Recruiting Pipeline

Visitor List

2026 Recruiting Class

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