Five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet flipped his commitment from Texas A&M to USC on Sunday.
Longstreet, who plays at Corona (Calif.) Centennial, is ranked No. 34 overall and the No. 6 quarterback in the Class of 2025 in the 247Sports Composite. He has missed some time with a foot injury this season but has thrown for 1,641 yards with 19 touchdowns and four interceptions and has added 494 yards rushing and six scores on the ground.
He’s been committed to the Aggies since mid-April and was the face of their success recruiting Southern California, where they held commitments from three national top-100 prospects.
On Friday night, USC quarterbacks coach Luke Huard watched Longstreet lead Centennial to a win over Mission Viejo in the Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals. On Saturday, Longstreet was at the Coliseum for USC’s game against Nebraska and chatted with Huard outside the Trojans’ locker room following the 28-20 win.
In related news, five-star quarterback Julian “Juju” Lewis announced on Sunday that he has decommitted from USC. The Georgia native committed to the Trojans in August 2023 but continued to visit other programs throughout the process. He was at Colorado last month for the Buffaloes’ win over Cincinnati and was in Athens, Ga., this weekend for the Georgia-Tennessee game. Indiana has also continued to pursue Lewis.
How did USC land Longstreet?
During preseason camp, USC coach Lincoln Riley spoke about the potential of recruiting two quarterbacks in the same class. “I don’t want to say never, but it’s highly, highly unlikely,” he said.
Riley rarely recruits high-profile quarterbacks in back-to-back cycles, so for him to recruit two in the same class is out of character. For example, Riley didn’t talk to Caleb Williams when he unofficially visited Oklahoma a few years ago because Brock Vandagriff, also in the Class of 2021, was already committed to the Sooners (he later flipped to Georgia).
At the time of the question, Lewis was committed to USC, but there was plenty of buzz about Longstreet and the Trojans. Longstreet attended a USC practice back in the spring, a few days before he was set to announce his commitment. The Trojans weren’t among his finalists, so the appearance raised eyebrows.
Huard invited Longstreet to practice, according to Kevin Longstreet, Husan’s father.
“Lincoln didn’t really speak to us in the spring. That was a problem,” Kevin said in August. “So coach Huard was the one. He really loves Husan a lot because he wanted to try to find a way to make it work, but it’s really late in the game now.”
Apparently, there was enough time to work things out. Riley’s track record with quarterbacks has always appealed to the Longstreet family. And there’s an opportunity to compete for the starting job at USC next season. At Texas A&M, it seems likely that redshirt freshman Marcel Reed is in line to start next year, which clogs a path toward playing time.
Landing Longstreet is a significant move for the Trojans, who have struggled to maintain a recruiting foothold in Southern California. Top prospects from the region have been committing to Texas A&M, Oregon, Alabama and several other high-profile out-of-state programs.
Of USC’s 21 commits, only four are from Southern California, and that’s including Longstreet (and not Lewis). So this is a much-needed local win for Riley.
What will be the fallout?
Lewis’ wandering eye frustrated a segment of USC’s fan base because he never solidified his commitment to the Trojans. But Riley and his coaching staff protected themselves with a sound contingency plan.
There are other dominoes to fall. Where will Lewis land? Several recruiting experts have predicted he will sign with Colorado, which will have an opening for an immediate starting opportunity in 2025 with Shedeur Sanders off to the NFL. Indiana is another possibility, and Georgia is now apparently in the mix.
There’s also the question of what Texas A&M does at the position in the 2025 class. Only one of the 30 blue-chip quarterback prospects in the 2025 cycle is uncommitted: Florida native Carter Smith, who recently decommitted from Michigan.
So the Aggies might need to poach a quarterback from another program, which would cause more ripple effects.
Required reading
- USC football recruiting reset: Where do the Trojans stand with the Class of 2025?
(Photo: Diannie Chavez / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
