USC Trojans Recruiting: 3-Star Safety Flips Commitment from Mississippi State to USC

Despite losing to Penn State 33-30 in overtime, the USC Trojans landed a commitment on Monday from safety Steve Miller. The three-star recruit from Greensboro, Georgia, flipped from Mississippi State to USC.

USC Trojans' latest commit Steve Miller. / Steve Miller / Instagra

The USC Trojans lost to then-ranked No. 4 Penn State 33-30 in overtime on Saturday in a game that seemed winnable for USC coach Lincoln Riley and his team. Despite the loss, the Trojans were able to pick up a win on the recruiting trail.

Three-star safety Steve Miller was in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the game against Penn State. Miller visited USC while he was committed to Mississippi State, but the visit was enough to flip from the Bulldogs to the Trojans.

Miller is 6-2, 185 pounds, and he's the 40th-ranked safety in the 2025 recruiting class.

USC Trojans' latest commit Steve Miller. / Steve Miller / Instagram

After announcing the flip in his commitment, Miller spoke to Chad Simmons with On3 sports about the change in his decision.

“The atmosphere is amazing," Miller said to On3. My visit was very big in my decision. I got a good view of the campus and a great view of the city. I loved just being in L.A. and being around a group of people that will do whatever they can to help you.”

According to 247Sports, USC has the No. 10 recruiting class in 2025. Miller is the second safety from Georgia in USC's class as he joins four-star Kendarius Reddick.

Oct 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Tyler Warren (44) is stopped by USC Trojans safety Bryson Shaw (27) in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

“It is just like a family that keeps God first at USC. They are not one of them teams to sell dreams to kids, they are about God and helping you accomplish what you want to accomplish in life," Miller told On3.

Miller is not the only visitor from Saturday's game against Penn State to commit to the Trojans. Four-star defensive lineman from the class of 2026 Braeden Jones committed to USC on Sunday

Defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn is in his first year at USC, and he has turned around the Trojans defense that finished 121st out of 133 teams in opponents points per game in 2023. While USC has already lost three games by mid-October, the defense has shown improvement through six games.

The Trojans' College Football Playoff hopes might be dashed, but USC coach Lincoln Riley and his staff continue to recruit for the future. After the loss to Penn State, Riley told the media that the Trojans need to get better at finishing games.

“We've had opportunities to finish teams off, that's something that we all got to do a better job of,” said USC coach Lincoln Riley. “We got to identify, we've got to coach it better.”

Getting commitments from Miller and Jones should help the Trojans finish games in the future, but they won't be arriving on campus until 2025 and 2026, respectfully.

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