Southern Cal under Lincoln Riley has been synonymous with offense as of late, but the defensive recruiting has been right there. On Saturday the Trojans landed three-star defensive tackle Deyvid Palepale out of Landsville (Pa.).
The Trojans beat out a pair of Big Ten schools in both Penn State and Michigan. Palepale will have a chance to go against both of those teams later in his career as USC is set to join the Big Ten with the start of the 2024 season, his freshman year.
USC’s defense is still considered a bit of a weakness of the team, something that likely kept USC out of the College Football Playoff last season in a pair of losses to Utah along the way.
The 6-foot-3, 300-pounder held close to two-dozen offers from across the nation before really narrowing it down to USC. Many experts felt that the draw to stay close to home would be too strong and have him land at Penn State but apparently distance was not a factor as he is crossing the country to attend USC.
Southern Cal’s class now hits the mark of 19 players for the class of 2024 and Palepale joins Kameryn Fountain as the only two members of the defensive line to this point, but that number should go up before the first National Signing Day arrives in December.
