USC football beats Ohio State for 4-star edge rusher Luke Wafle

Analysts predicted the edge rusher would land at Ohio State, but USC instead poached the New Jersey prospect and further reinforced its top-ranked recruiting class.

Edge rusher Luke Wafle picks USC over Ohio State | Ron Chenoy | Imagn

Four-star defensive end Luke Wafle has committed to USC and head coach Lincoln Riley, beating out Big Ten rival Ohio State in the process.

USC strengthened its position as the consensus No. 1 team in the 2026 college football recruiting rankings as a result of Wafle’s pledge.

That result ran in direct contradiction to what the analysts thought right up to the end.

Wafle was projected to sign with Ohio State with 53.9 percent likelihood, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

USC was in second place in the race to earn Wafle’s commitment, as the Trojans had 31.8 percent odds to sign the defensive lineman.

Penn State was a distant third at 3.9 percent and Texas was right behind with 2.5 percent odds.

Ohio State was given a 100 percent chance to sign Wafle, according to the two projections listed on the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

Wafle visited USC over the weekend and was thought to have been leaning towards going with the Trojans as the week began, according to On3 Sports’ Steve Wiltfong.

But he stuck with his projection that Wafle will go to Ohio State after having conversations with the player’s family and coaches.

In the end, Wafle developed a rapport with USC that Ohio State was unable to match.

Wafle is considered the No. 1 player from the state of New Jersey and the No. 10 overall edge rusher in the country, according to an average of the four national recruiting services.

That average counts Wafle as the No. 52 overall prospect in the 2026 football recruiting class.

Wafle recorded 9.5 sacks and 13 quarterback hurries over two years, according to MaxPreps.

The edge rusher added 60 stops and 21 tackles for loss in 14 total appearances.

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