USC Football Recruiting: Top Cornerback Jalen Ramsey Commits to the Trojans

According to SBNation.com, top cornerback Jalen Ramsey has committed to the Trojans over a host of programs, including Vanderbilt and Washington.

Ramsey, who is listed as a 4-star prospect by Scout.com, has been shooting up the recruiting boards since a strong showing at the recently completed "The Opening," which drew dozens of the top prep players from around the country.

After making two trips out west to visit USC, the prevailing thought was that Ramsey would pull the trigger for the Cardinal and Gold, and that rationale was rewarded for the Trojans with today's announcement.

USC needs to replenish a defensive secondary that will see six departures after this season due to graduation. In Ramsey, it gets an excellent corner who is physical and has great size (6'0", 190 lbs).

With the Ramsey verbal, the Trojans' next recruiting targets become somewhat muddled, although they will certainly need to sign at least one other defensive back—perhaps Max Redfield, Priest Willis or Tahaan Goodman.

The Ramsey verbal must come as particularly painful for residents of Tennessee, where he was listed as the top recruit in the state, as Trojan head coach Lane Kiffin is still one of the least-liked figures after spurning the Volunteers by leaving their program for USC.

Ramsey had offers from some of the top programs in the country including Alabama, Auburn and Nebraska, in addition to those mentioned at the beginning of the article.