USC Trojans Predicted to Land 4-Star AJ Tuitele Over Washington Huskies, Arizona Wildcats

National Signing Day is less than a week away and the USC Trojans have been predicted to land 2025 Mojave (NV) linebacker AJ Tuitele over the Washington Huskies, Arizona Wildcats and UNLV Rebels. USC signed only one linebacker during the Early National Signing Period.

Nov 2, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch, left, shakes hands with USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley following a Washington victory at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

National Signing Day is less than a week away and while most of the top prospects have already signed and enrolled in school, there still are a few big names that will announce their decision on Wednesday, Feb. 5. 

Mojave (NV) four-star linebacker AJ Tuitele made the trip to Los Angeles for an official visit with the USC Trojans a couple of weeks ago and has been predicted by 247Sports and On3 to land the Las Vegas native over Arizona, Washington and UNLV. 

“The coaching staff stood out to me at USC when I was on my visit," Tuitele told On3. "Coach Lincoln Riley is cool and he was in to see me right before I visited UNLV too. I really like how the coaches are there for their players at USC. They made me comfortable and I have been talking a lot to coach Dogg (Aaron Amaama) since they offered.”

Nov 2, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch, left, shakes hands with USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley following a Washington victory at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The talented linebacker was a big riser the final On3 rankings for the 2025 cycle that were released on Thursday. Tuitele, now a four-star recruit is the No. 15 linebacker, No. 146 overall prospect and the top-ranked player in the state of Nevada. On3 has Tuitele rated much higher than the 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals. He is still a three-star on those other three recruiting sites. 

Tuitele is looking for a new home after originally signing with Washington State during the early national signing period in December but after the Cougars staff left for Wake Forest, he reopened his recruitment. USC extended an offer to him earlier this month after not being involved in the mix the first time around.

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The Trojans signed 21 high school recruits during the Early National Signing Period, headlined by Corona Centennial (CA) five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet and Edna Karr (LA) five-star defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart. However, USC only signed one linebacker, San Clemente (CA) four-star Matai Tagoa’i. 

USC missed out on a couple of linebackers for the 2025 cycle. Seminole Ridge (FL) four-star Ty Jackson decommitted in November, a couple of weeks before signing day, he decided to stay home and sign with Florida. Buford (GA) four-star Jadon Perlotte flipped to Tennessee on the first day of the early signing period and the Trojans lost the recruiting battle for JSerra Catholic (CA) four-star Madden Faraimo with rival Notre Dame.

Linebacker is a big area of need because leading tacklers Easton Mascarenas-Arnold and Mason Cobb ran out of eligibility, and USC did not sign any players at that position during the winter transfer portal window.

Linebacker Eric Gentry will return after having to redshirt when he sustained a series of concussions early in the season. Desman Stephens II is expected to step into a larger role after working as a reserve during his freshman campaign this past season. Elijah Newby, a former four-star recruit in the 2024 cycle will be looked upon for an expanded role. 

Still, the Trojans are in desperate need of some depth and even if they land Tuitele, expect USC to be heavy buyers in the spring transfer portal window for some players with a little more experience. 

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