With 6 new blue-chips, the USC Trojans are National Signing Day 2017’s best closers

If coffee is for closers, USC just drank a venti.

USC is one of college football’s blue bloods. And on National Signing Day, the Trojans flexed their recruiting muscle, closing with six four- and five-star prospects, simply an incredible haul. It’s a gear other Pac-12 programs simply cannot shift into on the recruiting trail.

With the incredible close, USC’s class has rocketed to No. 4 nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings with 25 commitments, including two five-stars and 12 four-stars. It is by far the best class in the Pac-12, ahead of Stanford, which checks in at No. 14, and UCLA, which comes in at No. 19, as of this writing.

It started the day with four-star Austin (Texas) linebacker Levi Jones, who picked USC over FSU and Florida. Jones is the brother of East Carolina star receiver Zay Jones, and the son of linebacker Robert Jones, who played more than a decade in the NFL.

Next came four-star defensive tackle Jay Tufele, of Utah, beating out Ohio State, Michigan BYU, and Utah. Tufele is a quick penetrating tackle capable of rushing the passer at 6’3 and 297 pounds.

Then the Trojans added four-star tight end Josh Falo, of Sacramento (Calif.), beating out Oregon and Colorado. Falo is an impressive 6’5, and 235 pounds. Falo is going to be a matchup problem for Pac-12 defenses.

Next came four-star offensive tackle Austin Jackson, of Phoenix (Ariz.), who picked the Trojans over offers from Oregon, Washington, Colorado and more than 20 others. Jackson checks in at 6’6, 280 pounds, with impressive athleticism.

The Trojans then added a pair of teammates in five-star receiver Joseph Lewis, and four-star athlete Greg Johnson, both of Los Angeles (Calif.) Hawkins High School. Lewis has excellent ball skills and good size at 6’2 and 204 pounds, to go with nice speed and route running. Johnson offers great versatility, the ability to play either defensive back or receiver at 5’11, and 180 pounds.

This is all in addition to previous commitments USC had gained, like Fontana (Calif.) four-star running back Stephen Carr, and Independence (Ore.) four-star defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu.