:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/32989391/932350.0.jpg)
Steve Sarkisian and company continue to secure some of the top prospects in the state of California and their hard work paid off once again, landing four-star defensive lineman Jacob Daniel (Clovis, Calif.) for the 2015 recruiting front.
Daniel, the 6-foot-4, 310 pound defensive tackle, dreamed of playing football for USC ever since he was a kid, calling it the dream come true that he actually was recruited by this coaching staff. Keep in mind though, Daniel actually committed to Washington under coach Sarkisian but then decommitted once he officially took the USC job.
After visiting Southern California for a successful Junior Day along with another solid visit during Spring Football, Daniel leaned towards USC over schools like Alabama, Arizona, Cal and Oregon among the 23 major programs that sought after his services.
The Trojan coaching staff, most prominently coach Drevno and coach Helton, worked their recruiting magic with Daniel and other top prospects on the trip which concluded with an on-field appearance for the Spring Game at the Coliseum.
I'm taking my talents to LA to be A USC Trojan #FIGHTON
— Jacob Daniel (@Jdan_CTMD) May 13, 2014
The highly-touted defensive tackle just visited Oregon last month, but in the end USC was his favorite. Daniel has changed his twitter avatar to him wearing Cardinal and Gold in the Trojan Locker Room, securing his intentions for Troy. He now joins QB Ricky Town and OL Chuma Edoga as four-and-five star recruits for coach Sarkisian.
The commitment from Daniel gives USC some major beef in the upcoming recruiting rankings, moving them up to No. 21 overall (up 9 spots) on 247sports.com recruiting rankings. The Trojans have one five star, four separate four-star recruits and one three-star in the 2015 class that returns to the full 25 players.
Derrell Warren, West Coast Recruiting Analyst (@yssd): Daniel is one the best defensive tackles on the West Coast. He'll probably be put through a certain degree of reshaping once he gets into a collegiate strength and conditioning program. He should eventually be able to top out in the 310-315 pound range.
Daniel primarily plays the one-technique (or nose tackle) position for his high school team. On tape, he does spend a few snaps lined up as a three-technique defensive tackle. He has the baseline skill set to play both of those positions in a 4-3 defense, or even as a one gap nose tackle in a 3-4.