USC Trojans Make Timely Visit To Five-Star Recruit Mekai Brown

With official visit season beginning next weekend for USC, their staff has been checking in with their commits this month.

On Wednesday, Trojans director Weston Zernechel made the cross country trip to visit Greenwich County Day (Conn.) five-star edge Mekai Brown, one of the crown jewels of their 2027 class. Brown has locked in his official visit with USC for June 11-13, according to On3’s Scott Schrader.

Stacking Blue-Chip Out-of-State Defensive Lineman

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Recruiting Class Mekai Brown Chad Bowden Official Visit Gavin Williams Jahkeem Stewart Luke Wafle — Oct 28, 2023; Berkeley, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley walks on the field before a game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Brown marks the second consecutive year the Trojans have landed a five-star pass rusher from the East Coast, joining freshman defensive end and New Jersey native Luke Wafle, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2026 cycle according to Rivals.

Freshman defensive tackle Jaimeon Winfield is a five-star recruit from Texas and freshman defensive end Braeden Jones, a four-star recruit, comes from Chicago. In the 2025 class, it was New Orleans native Jahkeem Stewart, who was originally the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2026 cycle before he reclassified. The sophomore defensive tackle earned Freshman All-American honors last season.

In the 2024 class, junior defensive end Kameryn Crawford, was a top 100 prospect out of Georgia. Crawford started the final four games of his true freshman season and then became a full-time starter last season and led the team in sacks.

In an effort to build a dominant defensive front, Southern Cal has made a significant investment on the recruiting trail outside of California and Brown is the latest.

USC Staff Visits Recruiting Class

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

USC used a helicopter to send Zernechel, assistant general manager Dre Brown and safeties coach Paul Gonzales to visit Damien (Calif.) four-star safety Gavin Williams on March 6. It led to them landing a commitment from Williams on May 17. The local two-way star became Southern Cal's fourth top 100 commit in the secondary.

The Trojans also used the helicopter to send general manager Chad Bowden, inside receivers/tight ends coach Chad Savage, director of high school recruiting relations Aaron Amaama and Gonzales to visit San Diego (Calif.) Cathedral Catholic five-star athlete Honor Fa’alave-Johnson on May 12. Defensive ends coach Shaun Nua also made the trip down to San Diego, but he drove.

Shortly after meeting with several members of the USC staff, Fa'alave-Johnson announced on social media that he was officially shutting down his recruitment.

Southern California high schools have been holding College Showcases this month and the Trojans staff have made sure to make their presence felt. Brown and executive director of player personnel Max Stienecker were at Corona Centennial (Calif.) on May 7 to watch four-star receiver Quentin Hale.

USC Trojans Official Visit Lincoln Riley Dennis Simmons Quentin Hale Spring Practice Danny Lang Eli Woodard Recruiting Class — Corona Centennial (Calif.) four-star receiver and USC Trojans commit Quentin Hale | USC Trojans on SI

Bowden, Savage, Brown, Zernechel and Gonzales were at St. John Bosco (Calif.), the home of three-star linebacker commit Josiah Poyer, on March 13. The next morning Bowden, Brown and Zernechel visited Mater Dei (Calif.) to check in on four-star cornerback commit Danny Lang, who said that his recruitment was also shut down.

Running backs coach Anthony Jones was in Louisiana on Tuesday night to visit three-star running back commit Javon Vital.

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