USC Football Recruiting: 3 Things Missing from the Trojans' 2012 Class

As the February 1 signing day approaches, the Trojans' recruiting brain trust is hard at work dotting every "i" and crossing all the "t's" off of USC's prep wish list.

Shackled by the burden of reduced scholarships, Lane Kiffin, Ed Orgeron and crew will have to be almost perfect in their evaluation of who they offer these precious full rides to, because they simply can't afford to bring in a player who doesn't perform for the men of Troy.

To be certain, the pressure is on for Kiffin and his staff.

But in addition to bringing in players who will contribute, there is added concern to fill positions that the Trojans are in need of.

In the face of a recent flurry of transfers, those needs now are more evident than ever before.

And unfortunately for USC, some of those needs were not cultivated by the staff during the recruiting year because they did not know that these would be problem areas.

Now they are, and what the Trojans are left with are holes in the recruiting plan.

How USC plugs those gaps will be crucial to how the future unfolds for them. This article will look at these new (and sometimes old) needs and what, if anything, the Trojans have planned to address them.

Defensive Tackle

With the graduation of defensive interior linemen Christian Tupou and DaJohn Harris, the Trojans have a real need for depth at this position.

At one time, USC thought they had a good shot of landing one of the very best prep tackles in the country in Ellis McCarthy, but in recent weeks that plan has completely washed out.

McCarthy, who had the Trojans in his top two, first gave his verbal commitment to Cal but then changed his mind and surprised everyone by pledging to UCLA.

Though many Trojans fans feel that USC is probably better off without this confused young man, defensive line coach Ed Orgeron would have dearly loved to have him.

Now USC will have to hope that someone else surprises them with a signature come letter of intent signing day.

The Trojans have extended offers to Aziz Shittu, Dalvin Tomlinson and Epken Idouze, and of those, perhaps the most likely to sign with the Trojans is Shittu, who has a visit scheduled with USC but is expected to wind up with Stanford.

Running Back

All of a sudden, this position is now a deep concern for USC.

When Amir Carlisle stunned the staff by requesting his release from his scholarship, the Trojans' stable of tailbacks became much thinner.

Then Lane Kiffin honored George Farmer Jr's desire to return to his original wide receiver position, and the need became glaring.

Now USC has only D.J. Morgan and freshman Javorious (Buck) Allen to back up diminutive Curtis McNeal at the spot.

USC does have a verbal commitment from fullback Jahleel Pinner, but other than that, all of the Trojans' "eggs" are in the basket of 4-star running back D.J. Foster, who does have the Trojans high on his list.

Wide Receiver

Yes, you read this right, the Trojans now have a need for wide receivers.

At one time, this was was deepest position on the team, but with the recent transfers of Kyle Prater and Brice Butler, the Trojans now find themselves thin depth-wise.

The Trojans still have George Farmer Jr. and Victor Blackwell to back up Robert Woods and Marqise Lee, but beyond that, there is little to get excited about.

Fortunately, USC has a verbal commitment from 4-star Darreus Rogers, but they could now use a pledge from either Jordan Payton or Jaydon Mickens, two players who had once given USC verbals but have since changed their minds.

As stated before, the Trojans' recruiting staff needs to be perfect with whom they extend scholarships to.

With the recent transfers and resulting holes in the roster, they will have to be even more precise in this area.

What transpires come national letter of intent signing day will impact USC for years to come.

Filling the above-referenced holes will go a long way toward easing the reduction of those valuable scholarships, but time is not on the Trojans' side for the upcoming class.

Still, Kiffin and Orgeron have a magic touch when it comes to recruiting, and Trojans fans will be interested to see what they have up their sleeves for this class.

Don't put it past the recruiting staff to deliver some big-time surprises as they have done in the past.

Now only time will tell how this all shakes out.