USC Football: Commitment Date Set For Trojan Recruiting Target Jericho Johnson

The clock is ticking on the 2024 recruiting cycle. USC has just over 2 months left to sure up their final recruiting class as members of the Pac 12.

Armijo High School (Fairfield (CA) All-American defensive lineman Jericho Johnson will make his college decision on Thursday, December 21st at 7 p.m. PT, according to Brandon Huffman of 247Sports. He is deciding between a top for that in addition to USC includes Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

USC currently has 17 players committed in this cycle and potentially one more on the way with Johnson. USC's defense has not been good this year. In fact, it's been one of the worst in the country giving up 438.8 yards per game (117th in the country) and 43.9 points per game (121st in the country).

Johnson would be a huge get for any program but given the comparison between the Utah, Oregon, Washington, and USC defensive lines, it's fair to guess his impact would be felt most should be commit to the Trojans. USC's defensive line hasn't performed like many had anticipated this season. They saw a slew of experienced defensive lineman transfer in for the 2023 season like Anthony Lucas out from Texas A&M and Bear Alexander from Georgia. But, as a unit, they haven't performed at the level many expected.

The decision date and time has been set for Fairfield (Calif.) Armijo Top247 defensive lineman Jericho Johnson https://t.co/AO9o7IXhhk pic.twitter.com/aeygmPrjB8
— Brandon Huffman (@BrandonHuffman) November 22, 2023

Jericho Johnson comes in at 6'4 300-pounds and is an absolute force on the defensive interior. His presence, should he develop under Trojan defesnive line coach Shaun Nua will be much needed as the Trojans enter the Big 10 next season.

Many look at the Big 10 conference as more run-heavy and pro-style than the Pac 12. This means defensive and offensive line play become that much more important, given the amount of personnel in the box on a week-to-week, team-to-team basis.

Regardless of the conference USC plays in, they need help along the defensive line. Johnson's commitment would be a step in the right direction for that unit.

Our colleague Max Torres predicted that Johnson would land in Oregon. Johnson visited Oregon for the Colorado game, and will be up in Eugene again for the Duck's final Pac 12 game of the season against Oregon State, according to Huffman.

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