USC Coach Shaun Nua Doesn't Hold Back on Five-Star Freshman Luke Wafle

Five-star defensive end Luke Wafle was one of the prized recruits of the USC Trojans elite recruiting class this past cycle and so far, the New Jersey native has generated a ton of buzz during winter workouts.

Sep 17, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts before the game against the Fresno State Bulldogs at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With a majority of the USC’s recruiting class for the 2026 class assembled before the start of last summer, the Trojans were able to zero in on a handful prospects. 

One included five-star edge Luke Wafle, a highly coveted pass rusher from New Jersey. USC was in an intense recruiting battle with Ohio State down to the final hours, before he announced his pledge to Southern Cal. 

Luke Wafle Brings Workmanlike Approach 

Sep 17, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts before the game against the Fresno State Bulldogs at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Wafle continued to shoot up the recruiting rankings during his senior season after registering a mind-boggling 99 tackles, including 37 tackles for loss and 23 sacks. 

Rivals tabbed him as their No. 1 overall recruit after a phenomenal showing all week at the Navy All-American Bowl in early January. In the game, Wafle recorded three sacks and three tackles for loss, playing against some of top talent in the country, which earned him MVP honors

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But all of that goes out the window once a recruit arrives on campus, rankings become irrelevant if it doesn’t translate to anything on the field. Wafle understands that and has put his head down and went to work during this first round offseason workouts.  

“No matter what business you’re in, no matter what profession you’re in, you always start with mindset, and that young man’s mindset and mentality and his makeup is up there,” said defensive ends coach Shaun Nua. “He’s tough, intelligent and just willing to work. The thing you that you see out there, he’s always putting himself on the line with all the conditioning stuff. He’ll give you everything he got.”

Spring Outlook for Defensive End 

Sep 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive end Braylan Shelby (10) reacts after sacking Michigan State Spartans quarterback Aidan Chiles (2) during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Kameryn Crawford and Braylan Shelby have split starting duties at one of the defensive end positions since the second half of the 2024 season. 

And with Anthony Lucas headed to the NFL, Crawford and Shelby are the favorites to be full-time starters in 2026. Crawford finished first on the team in sacks with 5.5 and Shelby finished second with 4.5 this past season. USC needs them to become more consistent pass rushers and see those numbers closer to double digits.

Shelby enters his senior season, while Crawford will be a junior next season season. They have played a ton of football at the collegiate level and player development has to show up for both of them.

Oct 21, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sidelines against the Utah Utes in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jadyn Ramos was a late add to the 2025 class, signing last February. He was a recruit the Trojans staff was much higher on than his three-star rating. Ramos generated buzz coming out of the team's scrimmage inside the Coliseum during fall camp because of his natural pass rush ability. He saw action in three games last season as he continued to develop behind the scenes. The big thing for him was putting weight on this frame.

Nua revealed during his press conference this past Friday that Santa Margarita (Calif.) four-star Simote Katoanga will play defensive end for them.

“Depth is the greatest friend you can have in the course of a season," Nua said. "You got to develop depth. Last year we really only had three readymade defensive ends. Now, we have an opportunity to have some guys fill in that way our depth isn’t too big of a drop off. We got Luke Wafle, Simote, all of those guys can really help right away. You usually don’t want to rely on freshman coming in but this is a freshman class I think can handle what we’re going to ask of them.”