5-Star Recruit Brandon Arrington Raves About USC Trojans: Oregon Ducks, Texas A&M Target

USC Trojans coaches Lincoln Riley and D'Anton Lynn made the trip down to San Diego County to visit five-star recruit athlete Brandon Arrington on Monday, Jan. 6. USC has emerged as one of the favorites with the Texas A&M Aggies and the Oregon Ducks for the highly sought-after prospect.

Mount Miguel (CA) 2026 five-star athlete Brandon Arrington / Instagram / @brandon2jubie

USC Trojans coaches Lincoln Riley and D’Anton Lynn made the trip down south to San Diego County to visit Mount Miguel (CA) five-star athlete Brandon Arrington earlier this week. Arrington is the No. 1 athlete and No. 8 overall prospect, per the On3 Industry Rankings. 

The blue-chip prospect is high on the Trojans priority list for the 2026 recruiting cycle. Arrington is up to 38 division one offers after picking up one from the LSU Tigers this week, but USC has emerged as one of the favorites with the Texas A&M Aggies and the Oregon Ducks for the highly sought-after prospect.

However, because of their close proximity to Arrington, the Trojans do have the luxury to be frequent visitors in front of him this spring and vice versa as he nears a decision. Arrington spoke recently about Riley and Lynn visiting him this week. 

Mount Miguel (CA) 2026 five-star athlete Brandon Arrington / Instagram / @brandon2jubie

“What excites me is that they showed me love and showed the priority they have for me and they been showing love since day one,” Arrington told On3 sports. 

USC has been locked in with schools like Alabama, Texas A&M and Oregon for the top recruits in California for many years now. And as of late those schools have landed a majority of the top prospects in the Trojans backyard. Of the top 10 prospects in California for the 2025 recruiting cycle, Alabama signed three of the top five and Texas A&M signed three, while USC signed just two of the top 10, Corona Centennial five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet and San Clemente linebacker Matai Tagoa’i.

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Arrington had his first gameday experience at the Coliseum in November to watch the Trojans defeat Nebraska 28-20. Also, in attendance that day was 2025 USC signees Longstreet and five-star defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart.

“Just the people,” Arrington told On3. “The history. The coaching staff has experience of Heisman winners, NFL coaching development and development is a big key in my process. I want a coach who’s going to develop me and push me to the max so I can be ready for the NFL.”

Riley’s struggles with landing elite in-state talent is well documented. He has been criticized in the past for not visiting local high schools enough, but Riley is making it a point of emphasis in the 2026 recruiting cycle. The Trojans have already landed Rancho Cucamonga cornerback RJ Sermons, the No. 27 overall prospect, and Loyola cornerback Brandon Lockhart, the No. 57 overall prospect. 

And according to On3, the Trojans are considered the favorites to land Folsom five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons, the No. 10 overall prospect, Oaks Christian cornerback Davon Benjamin, the No. 40 overall prospect, Orange Lutheran linebacker Talanoa Ili, the No. 55 overall prospect and JSerra edge rusher Simote Katoanga, the No. 88 overall prospect. 

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