Braxton Myers, nation's No. 6 safety, commits to USC Trojans over Clemson, LSU, others

Although Braxton Myers is rated as a safety, he was primarily recruited as an outside cornerback by most of his finalists

The world of college football recruiting can be a strange one, full of twists of turns.

Few know that better than Coppell High School (Texas) bluechip defensive back Braxton Myers, who is rated the nation's No. 6 safety. 

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back grew up dreaming of playing out West for the USC Trojans.

Closer to home, and perhaps therefore more practical, Myers always felt he'd be a good fit in former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch's defense.

So, when Lincoln Riley and his coaching staff moved to Los Angeles, the Texas defensive back was almost immediately intrigued.

On Monday, the All-American Bowl pledge announced his commitment to USC over fellow finalists Auburn, Arkansas, Clemson, LSU and Ole Miss.

 "Back when the coaching staff was at Oklahoma, I really liked coach Grinch's defense and what he was doing with it," Myers said. "I could really see myself succeeding in it. And back in middle school, USC was always a dream of mine to go to. So when the staff went there in December, I felt like I wanted to go there, but I had to check it out first and make sure I really wanted to go there."

 The on-field fit made sense, particularly since USC recruited Myers as an outside cornerback, but defensive back coach Donte Williams sealed the deal. 

"I talked to him every single day," Myers said. "We've gotten close. I can talk about anything with him - about football or even anything out of football."

So, of course, that was the Texas defensive back's first call when he was ready to tell the staff he was headed to Los Angeles. 

"They were excited," he said. "I told coach Donte (Williams) first. He went around to the whole coaching staff and they were just congratulating me and were happy that I'm coming. They are going to start building the program back with the class of 2023 and we want to win a national title."

That decision was solidified in Myers' mind following his trip for the spring game last month - even if it took until Monday to make it official.  

"It feels like USC is on top of the Pac right now," he said. "The fans were great at the spring game. It was the most they'd had in a long time at the spring game, which made me like the fans even more." 

Myers intends to graduate in December and enroll at USC in January.

With Myers in the fold, USC's 2023 recruiting class jumps into the top-10 nationally.

The group is led by three five-star recruits - Los Alamitos quarterback Malachi Nelson and athlete Makai Lemon and Bishop Gorman wide receiver Zachariah Branch - and a trio of bluechip Texas products.

Myers joins four-star running backs Quinten Joyner (Manor) and A'Marion Peterson (Hirschi). 

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