USC Trojans Closing in on Four-Star Cornerback Recruit

The USC Trojans look to continue their trend of landing star in-state talent as they remain in the hunt for one of the top cornerback recruits in the country.

Aug 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts during the game against the Missouri State Bears at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans once again find themselves in the thick of a recruiting battle for one of the top California recruits of the 2027 class, this time being four-star cornerback Gavin Williams.

The La Verne (Calif.) Damien defensive back has already cut his list to a final four, headlined by USC, along with the UCLA Bruins, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Washington Huskies. Now, Rivals' Greg Biggins reports that Williams has visits scheduled with each program, set to happen over the next two months.

Of the group, USC is set to have the second shot at wowing Williams, as they will host him on June 12. USC notably has made a big push for Williams, even making a grand entrance at Damien's showcase on Wednesday evening in a helicopter. According to Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Trojans have a 74.5 percent chance of bringing him to the Coliseum. If the Trojans were to land Williams, he would become their 10th in-state commit of the 2027 recruiting class.

USC Continues to Dominate California Recruiting

Nov 29, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley leads the Spirit of Troy marching band in a rendition of Tribute to Troy after teh game against the UCLA Bruins at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The foundation for USC's dominance over the West Coast recruiting circuit started with the 2026 class. In that No.1-ranked group, 20 of the 32 were commits from within the state of California. With multiple signees from major high school programs like Mater Dei, Santa Margarita and Sierra Canyon, the Trojans pipeline now has them running the table in their region.

Looking ahead to the 2027 class, coach Lincoln Riley has put a particular emphasis on the defensive side of the ball on the recruiting trail. Of the 13 commits thus far, seven of them come on that side of the ball headline by five-star athlete Honor Fa'alava-Johnson and five-star edge rusher Mekai Brown.

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

More importantly, of those defenders, the entire cornerback group of Fa'alave-Johnson, four-star cornerback Aaryn Washington and four-star cornerback Danny Lang all rank top-10 both in-state and nationally at their respective positions. Gavin Williams would continue that trend as the No. 9-ranked safety in the class.

USC Trojans Competing With Former Rival

Unfortunately for the Trojans, one of the major teams standing between them and landing another star in-state recruit happens to be their former rivals, Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have already hosted Williams multiple times, including most recently in late March.

Oct 14, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley and Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman chat before the game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Back around that time, Notre Dame had real momentum regarding landing Williams as Rivals recruiting expert Mike Singer gave the Fighting Irish a 71.7 percent chance of signing him going into that visit. Notre Dame has yet to land a single California-based recruit in either of the 2026 or 2027 recruiting cycles, giving USC something to lean on as the home team.

It is noteworthy, though, that of Williams's scheduled official visits, Notre Dame will get the final say on June 19. For USC, the hope is that, similar to other recruits in the past, the Chad Bowden effect of leading recruits to end their visit process early will work once again. The Trojans and Fighting Irish may no longer be playing their storied rivalry game, but USC can still use its recent recruiting momentum to get the best of Notre Dame in another way.

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