Five-star tight end Chris Clark announced on Twitter Tuesday he was decommitting from Michigan:
— Chris Clark (@Clark8Chris) December 2, 2014
The announcement came shortly after head coach Brady Hoke’s dismissal, as well as an in-home visit from USC’s offensive coordinator Clay Helton and tight end coach Marques Tuiasosopo.
Clark has also shared on Twitter that he’s not messing around and his choices have been narrowed down to five:
So it doesn't get hectic wanna make it public only interested in 5 schools Michigan Unc Usc Ucla Texas
— Chris Clark (@Clark8Chris) December 3, 2014
While he still has Michigan on his list with USC, he also is considering North Carolina, Texas and the Trojans' crosstown rival, UCLA. The Avon, Connecticut native checks in at 6-foot-5, 253-pounds and is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 1 tight end in the 2015 class. The tight end position is a priority for the Trojans since they will lose fifth-year senior Randall Telfer and only have two remaining scholarship tight ends, Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick and Bryce Dixon.
USC is no stranger to luring number one ranked tight ends. Bryce Dixon was at the top of his recruiting class last year. Xavier Grimble was the No. 1 guy in 2010. USC also signed the No. 2 tight end in 2008 (Blake Ayles) and 2004 (Dale Thompson).
The Trojans also successfully attracted many top prospects from the Northeast such as NFL linebacker Brian Cushing (’08) and current Trojans Anthony Sarao and safety Gerald Bowman.
Recovery from a knee injury Clark suffered towards the end of his season pushed back his visit to Southern California to January 17th after he was originally scheduled to visit last weekend during the Notre Dame game. The delay seems to be working in USC’s favor, however, since the highly touted recruit told Scout, "I will be there when they bring in a lot of their committed players. It will be a good time to chill with everybody."
Hopefully, Chris Clark will find Southern California to his liking. It will be his first time ever coming to the West Coast.
Can't wait to get out to the west coast for the first time for my visits
— Chris Clark (@Clark8Chris) December 4, 2014