College Football's No. 1 ATH Spurns 5 Major Programs With Commitment Decision

College football's early signing period for the 2027 recruiting class won't come around until December, but it's common for top players to get commitments out of the way before their senior season.

On Saturday, the nation's No. 1 athlete, Honor Fa'alave-Johnson, announced his commitment to the USC Trojans. The San Diego, California native picked Lincoln Riley's Trojans over programs such as LSU, Notre Dame, Texas, Oregon and Miami.

Given that Fa'alave-Johnson is one of the most dynamic recruits in the country who has been clocked in a game at nearly 23 miles per hour, it's hard to imagine that the other programs didn't offer him all that they could. With that being said, Fa'alave-Johnson made it clear to 247Sports that he simply felt a connection to USC that the others couldn't offer.

"It's about this state, my name, and the lineage that comes with USC, especially for players from San Diego," Fa'alave-Johnson said to 247Sports. "I know it's early, but I am really confident in my decision. Other schools were on me hard up to this point in the process but the more and more I thought about it, the clearer the choice became and that was USC."

Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley. — Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley poses with fans. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Fa'alave-Johnson admitted that there was a hesitancy to commit this early at one point, but his relationship with Riley helped him decide that now was the right time.

"I kept going back to the same thing — why wait? The coaching staff made a huge difference for me. I've built such a great bond with coach Lincoln Riley and it feels like we talk just about every day. Obviously there are some new coaches on the defensive side of the ball so I've still got to build those relationships but I'm excited to do so and be a big recruiter moving forward."

With the addition of Fa'alave-Johnson, USC's recruiting class ranks as the No. 13 group in the country, as he comes in as the top-ranked player in the class. According to 247Sports' recruiting rankings, Fa'alave-Johnson ranks as the No. 22 player in the country, No. 1 athlete and as the No. 2 player in the state of California.

This past season for Cathedral Catholic, he rushed for 1,532 yards and 23 touchdowns, while hauling in 35 passes for 564 yards and seven touchdowns. Defensively, he had 40 tackles and three picks.

He projects as a safety at the next level.