USC football loses two 5-star recruits in 24 hours
USC football started strong on the 2025 recruiting front by signing a pair of top-flight defensive line prospects, but now as official visits start to pick up, the school has lost both of them.
And all within the last 24 hours.
Over that time, the Trojans first lost the pledge of five-star edge rusher Isaiah Gibson, and then the following day, also lost that of five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry.
That double-dose of disappointment proves that USC and Lincoln Riley still have a ways to go in convincing some of their most important recruiting additions to stay with the program.
Gibson ranks as the No. 1 edge rusher in the nation, the No. 7 prospect from the state of Georgia, and the No. 27 ranked overall player, according to a consensus of national recruiting rankings.
After having originally pledged to USC almost three months ago, his recent de-commitment came after taking visits to both Ohio State and Tennessee during this cycle.
He has also been to Georgia, Auburn, and South Carolina, and is scheduled to meet with Oklahoma.
On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine currently favors Georgia by a slim 50 percent margin, with USC still sitting in second place by a close 43 percent mark.
247Sports Crystal Ball also expects Georgia to win out for Gibson, with 75 percent likelihood. USC has a 25 percent chance to re-sign the player, according to two predictions.
Terry also hails from Georgia, where he is rated as the No. 2 overall player in the state in addition to being considered the No. 2 defensive lineman nationally and the No. 7 overall prospect.
A noted run defender, Terry initially pledged to the Trojans back in March, but re-opened his recruitment after taking visits to Georgia and Florida State.
Terry is projected to sign with Georgia with a dominant 94 percent likelihood, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, while USC sits at 1.5 percent.
College Football HQ places USC at No. 12 in our 2025 college football recruiting team rankings, with a class still highlighted by five-star quarterback Julian Lewis, one of 11 commitments.
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JAMES PARKS
James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.