Recruiting Shocker: JC Recruit Ja'Rodd Watson Chooses WAC Over Big Ten

Even though the college football season is over, it doesn't mean there's a shortage of things going on around the country.

Already we've seen Pete Carroll leave USC to return to the NFL as the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, taking with him linebacker coach Ken Norton Jr and New Mexico State head coach DeWayne Walker.

Yesterday, news broke that USC had replaced Carroll with Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin, who only spent one season in Rocky Top. But Kiffin wasn't the biggest hiring news for USC. That spotlight was put on Norm Chow after he finalized a deal to return to the Trojans as the offensive coordinator, a spot he had once held under Pete Carroll before moving on to the Tennessee Titans and then cross town PAC-10 rival UCLA.

News from both coaching moves have led to recruits de-committing from the verbal commits they had given their respective school. One of those was linebacker A.J. Jefferson, who had verbally committed to Tennessee.

Not only are these big schools making waves, but the WAC made headlines this week as they stole an up and coming California prospect from the Big Ten.

Ja'Rodd Watson  had not only received offers from WAC schools Nevada and San Jose State but also Conference USA's Central Florida.

Then, Watson received his biggest offer to date when the University of Illinois came calling and offered the 6'2" 275 lbs defensive tackle from Grossmont C.C.

Almost a month later, Watson took an official visit to the campus of San Jose State and made a move that shocked everyone. Watson liked the Spartan coaching staff so much that he signed a letter of intent .

This could be the biggest recruiting win for the Western Athletic Conference since wide receiver Matt Miller, who had received offers from BCS schools Arkansas and North Carolina, verbally committed to Boise State in December.