USC Trojans Targeting Elite In-State Offensive Line Recruits

The USC Trojans are in pursuit of a trio of local offensive line recruits in the class of 2028.

St. John Bosco (Calif.) 2028 IOL Elisha Mueller | USC Trojans on SI

Following the end of official visits, the USC Trojans hold one commitment on the offensive line in the 2027 class in Servite (Calif.) four-star offensive tackle Drew Fielder, who USC flipped from Oregon back in March. 

The Trojans will continue to pursue recruits, but there’s also a chance they only take one this current cycle, which means they will dive into the transfer portal after the season but it also makes the offensive line more of a priority in the 2028 class. 

2028 Offensive Line Recruiting Targets 

St. John Bosco (Calif.) 2028 IOL Elisha Mueller | USC Trojans on SI

There are trio of offensive line prospects in Southern California for the 2028 cycle that are high-priority targets for Southern Cal.

USC has three players on its roster from St. John Bosco (Calif.) and hold a commitment from 2027 three-star linebacker Josiah Poyer. They have their eyes on extending that pipeline with four-star IOL Elisha Mueller, the No. 118 overall prospect and No. 7 IOL and No. 5 recruit in California according to 247Sports.

Mueller picked up an offer from the Trojans the summer heading into his freshman season. Since then, his recruiting profile has skyrocketed but USC remains heavily involved. Mueller has visited campus multiple times over the past couple of years, most recently on June 11 to workout with offensive line coach Zach Hanson. 

Cajon (Calif.) five-star offensive tackle Austin Attalah is the No. 30 overall prospect, No. 3 offensive tackle and No. 1 recruit in California according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Sep 13, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Attalah has been on campus multiple times this calendar year, including most recently on June 9. Attalah released his top eight earlier this month and multiple Texas schools are heavily in play for the highly touted offensive tackle, but the Trojans are all-in in their pursuit of the coveted prospect. 

JSerra Catholic (Calif.) four-star offensive tackle Lincoln Fa’alafi is still relatively new to football but has already blossomed into a top recruit in the 2028 class. Fa’alafi visited USC in the spring, and they remain in the mix as his recruitment continues to takeoff. 

Fa’alafi is the No. 28 overall prospect, No. 3 offensive tackle and No. 1 player in California according to 247Sports. Southern Cal has built a strong pipeline in the Trinity League but one school they have not landed a player from is JSerra. Although, freshman defensive end Simote Kataonga did previously play for them before transferring to Santa Margarita (Calif.) for his senior year.

California Recruiting Class

USC Trojans general manager Chad Bowden hired from Notre Dame Fighting Irish | USC Trojans Video Youtube

California is once again loaded with talent in the 2028 class, particularly the 70-mile radius around campus and USC intends to capitalize. 

When Chad Bowden was hired as the Trojans general manager last January, he made it clear he was going to build a roster that reflected what the program had looked like during its dominant run in the early 2000s, a roster filled with elite players from Southern California. 

Two recruiting classes in and Bowden is loading the roster with local talent and USC pushing to continue the trend in the 2028 class.

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