5-Star Recruit Xavier Griffin 'Fully Committed' to USC Trojans Despite SEC Interest

Gainesville (Ga.) five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin has not officially shut down his recruitment, but the No. 1 ranked linebacker, according to 247Sports, has been adamant about his pledge to the USC Trojans. Griffin has been committed to USC since last July.

“I’m fully committed,” Griffin told 247Sports.

Griffin was down in Austin this past weekend to get his first look at Texas. He tried to take a picture with a Longhorns coach with the USC 'V' sign and refused to do the 'Horns Up' sign, according to On3’s Scott Schrader.

Oct 28, 2023; Berkeley, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley before the game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Back in January, Griffin wore a USC shirt when coaches from Florida State, Clemson and Ohio State visited him at his school.

Griffin is the crown jewel of the Trojans No. 1 ranked recruiting class for the 2026 cycle. He will return to USC next weekend for the first time since he was on campus for Junior Day in early February. It will be his sixth trip to Los Angeles.

“A lot of excitement and high energy in LA right now!” Griffin told On3 in February. “I believe Coach Riley has put together a stellar coaching staff and we will have a strong recruiting class for 2026. Being able to play for three top NFL coaches excites me the most. Just ready to get in there and learn as much as possible!”

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USC will continue to push to bring the highly touted five-star recruit out to Los Angeles as often as possible from now until he can officially sign with the program during the early signing period in December.

The Trojans staff will be back on the road following the conclusion of spring practice on April 26 and Griffin will assuredly be one of their first out of state visits. As of this moment, USC is the only official visit Griffin has scheduled this summer.

Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama are three other schools in the SEC that are pushing to keep Griffin from leaving the south and heading out west. Griffin was in Knoxville last weekend and took in a Georgia practice in March, where he reiterated where he stood with the Trojans.

"I'm fully locked in. We're just trying to build this '26 class. We've got the No. 1 class right now. We're trying to keep it there," Griffin told 247Sports. "It's a lot of guys down here they try to get me to get in touch with to get them to go to USC. I've been up there a good bit now, getting to meet other commits. Everybody all has the same goal that we see USC being. That's been big. It's just the vision they see for us. All the commits we've been getting and the past class they had. They're just trying to build and have guys come in to play."

USC holds 22 commitments, including seven recruits that are ranked inside of 247Sports top 100 overall prospects, Griffin, Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) four-star cornerback RJ Sermons, Loyola (Calif.) four-star cornerback Brandon Lockhart, Santa Margarita (Calif.) four-star EDGE Simote Katoanga, Richardson (Texas) Jaimeon Winfield, Oaks Christian (Calif.) four-star running back Deshonne Redeaux and Mater Dei (Calif.) four-star defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui.

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