USC adds two big signing-day decommits to its defense-loaded 2024 newcomers

USC officially signs Michigan LB Jadyn Walker and Carlsbad DL Ratumana Bulabalavu, along with Los Alamitos CB Isaiah Rubin, to round out its class

Luca Evans (OC Register)  —  LOS ANGELES — When Jadyn Walker told his mother Noelle that USC had given him a scholarship offer, she was at work on the first Saturday of December, and her son’s words hit her in shock. They lived in Michigan. Walker was committed to Michigan State. California? she thought. Can you get any further away from me?

But Noelle was shocked, really, because Walker had shown no signs of wavering on his pledge to Michigan State. A wide receiver and outside linebacker at Portage Northern High in Michigan, he had committed to the Spartans on Sept. 9 – all but hours before USA Today broke news of sexual harassment allegations against head coach Mel Tucker. Noelle sat her son down, that same day, and asked him what he wanted to do. Walker told her he wanted to stay committed. Loyalty ran deep.

Two weeks later, though, Tucker was officially and unceremoniously fired by Michigan State, setting off a month-long period in limbo before the Spartans hired Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith. The staff changed. And suddenly, amid uncertainty over those changes and with less than a month left until early signing day, USC swooped in with an all-out push – with Lincoln Riley, newly hired defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and linebackers coach Matt Entz all flying out to visit Walker.

“He was like, ‘I just feel like there’s a reason USC reached out to me,’” Noelle said, and it was enough to persuade Walker to stay away from putting pen to paper with Michigan State on the early signing day in December.

And it was enough, too, to get Walker to officially flip from Michigan State to USC on signing day on Wednesday, signing his national letter of intent to complete USC’s 2024 class. It wasn’t the only last-minute pivot; Carlsbad defensive lineman Ratumana Bulabalavu, who de-committed from Washington after head coach Kalen DeBoer departed for Alabama in the carousel caused by Nick Saban’s retirement, signed his NLI to USC a day after officially committing.

Los Alamitos High cornerback Isaiah Rubin, who had previously committed to the Trojans, also signed his letter of intent on Wednesday.

On paper, top to bottom, USC’s 2024 class is noticeably light on offensive talent and blue-chip recruits, particularly missing out on some of the top talent in California. But after recruiting just eight defensive players in 2023, Riley placed clear emphasis on drawing defensive talent after the winter hires of Lynn, Matt Entz, Doug Belk and Eric Henderson, leading to a class with depth at nearly every defensive area: 13 of USC’s 2024 commits come on the defensive side of the ball, their most since 2019.

“It’s going to be scary for everybody else,” Walker said Wednesday.

Few defensive linemen in the 2024 class have been as prolific as Bulabalavu in high school, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound pass-rusher who racked up 60½ sacks his past three years at Carlsbad’s Army and Navy Academy. He’s been recruited in large part by returning edge coach Shaun Nua, and he stands as the first defensive line commit brought in during the Henderson era, the former Rams assistant coach hitting the 2025 recruiting trail with ferocity since his hire in mid-January.

Walker’s flip addresses a key need for both USC’s 2024 class and immediate depth: USC had just one freshman, Desman Stephens (Michigan), incoming at inside linebacker. Walker said USC recruited him to fit as a will (weakside) linebacker in Lynn’s defensive scheme; at 6-3 and 210 pounds, he recognized he’d have to put on some weight entering the fall.

“Coach Riley flying out, Coach Lynn flying out, Coach Entz, it just kinda showed love … it just showed they wanted me more, I guess,” Walker said.

The 6-1, 170-pound Rubin, a four-star recruit, is ranked the No. 25 player in California by 247Sports and No. 26 by ESPN. He is touted as the No. 32 cornerback in the country by 247Sports, No. 37 by ESPN and No. 48 by Rivals.com. In addition to playing defensive back, Rubin is considered a talented kick return specialist.

ocregister.com

___________

TrojanDailyBlog members —  We always encourage you to add factual information, insight, divergent opinions, or new topics to the TDB that don’t necessarily pertain to any particular moderator post or member comment.