USC Football: Why USC Offered This Elite Safety Prospect Out of Florida
Eau Gallie (Melbourne, FL) sophomore Xavier Iherisse took to X/Twitter today to announce he has received a scholarship offer from USC. Trojan defensive line coach Eric Henderson put in the call to Iherisse, according to his post. So, what could it be that USC sees in Iherisse as a prospect? I took a look at his film to better understand what USC could be getting in the sophomore Floridian.
The first thing I saw when I turned on his recently dropped sophomore highlight tape (embedded at the bottom of this article) was athleticism. The self-reported 5-foot-10, 180-pound defesnive back has wheels and bunny-hops to match, easily making up for his relatively shorter frame in jump ball scenarios. A three-sport athlete (basketball/baseball), Iherisse spent most of his time during his sophomore season jumping routes from the safety position, but also is an impactful kick/punt returner.
He's got top-tier hip mobility and can flip his hips to turn and run when offenses test him with deep passes. In addition to that, he also showed above-average tackling ability and brings every pound of his 180-pound frame with him to the ball carrier. He has moments of brilliance from the safety position, and plays very similar to current New Orleans Saint Tyrann Mathieu. Iherisse looks to be head-and-shoulder faster than everybody else on his film, teammates and opponent alike.
As a recruit, Iherisse is currently unranked from a 'stars' perspective. But with offers already from schools like Georgia, LSU, Miami, Florida, and now USC, that should be changing quickly.
During his sophomore season, Iherisse accounted for eight interceptions in addition to 68 total tackles. From his freshman season to now, Iherisse is developing into an extremely balanced athlete. Even in his first year of playing safety in high school, the fluidity of his hips was evident, as shown in the first few plays of his freshman highlight tape. We'll be closely monitoring the recruitment of Iherisse as it develops. USC would be lucky to earn the commitment of a player like Iherisse given how athletic he is for his age.
