USC Trojans Recruiting: The Reality of Those "Who Got Away"

As the Trojans recruiting staff unpack their bags from the long journey in 2011/2012 that is college football recruiting, one must take a tempered look at the perceived disappointment of those players who did not choose USC as their final destination to ply their trade.

After starting strong with early signatures from star athlete Nelson Agholor and defensive end Leonard Williams, both from Florida, the Trojans day fizzled when 5-star offensive linemen Andrus Peat and Kyle Murphy both settled on Stanford for their college careers.

Even Lane Kiffin expressed disappointment when the Los Angeles Daily News quoted him as saying, "Our starting pitcher pitched six great innings and our bullpen got rocked. It didn't end very well."

Of course, Kiffin was referring to the late losses of Murphy and Peat, both of whom had the Trojans high on their list until the very end.

As a competitor, Kiffin has the right to be disappointed and it's that drive that should warm fans of the men of Troy's hearts because he simply will not allow himself to settle for anything other than the very best.

But should he and Trojan fans be disappointed at the loss of those players who wound up somewhere else?

The truth is that neither Murphy or Peat were anything close to "sure things" as some thought.

In Peat's case, there were three main players for his services and by any objective measure, USC was third on that list.In fact, even Stanford was thought to be a distant second to Nebraska, where Peat's brother plays and who was thought to be the prime leader for the big tackle from Arizona.

If anyone should be disappointed in losing out in the Peat sweepstakes, it should be the Cornhuskers.

And what about Murphy? Surely, the Trojans can hang their head in losing out on the 5-star from San Clemente, right?

Not so much.

From the beginning, Stanford was the team to beat for Murphy's services and there were some legitimate reasons for why this was so.

For one, the Trojans return a young offensive line with only one spot (left tackle) open and uncertain as to who will play there.

Plus, USC had verbal commitments from Max Tuerk, Jordan Simmons and Zach Banner—all very highly regarded offensive linemen.

Wait a minute, you say, what about Stanford? They had a verbal from 5-star offensive lineman Joshua Garnett and when both Peat and Murphy signed, didn't that create a logjam on their offensive line?

Not really.

With the graduation of David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin, both All-Americans in 2011, two spots in Stanford's offensive line immediately went up for grabs.Also, in Stanford's scheme, seven or eight offensive linemen can be found routinely in their rotation and significant playing time is found for all of those players each and every game.

So, Trojan fans, you see, the loss of Murphy and Peat shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise and you shouldn't be very disappointed.

Those guys were long shots from the very beginning.

Instead, now Kiffin gets to hoard those scholarships for next year. This is a good thing.

But if you really want to be disappointed, there was one who got away that the Trojans could have used—though his name will not roll off of many tongues when discussing the relative merits of this year's recruiting class.

Pio Vatuvei, a promising defensive tackle (a position the Trojans need to replenish), flipped to Washington on signing day.

Though only rated a 3-star prospect by Scout.com, Vatuvei has a frame that can pack on weight to play in the interior and the speed to get to the quarterback as evidenced by his 12.5 sacks in 2011.

Though not a glamorous name, Vatuvei could be a good one in a year or two and for 2012, the Trojans only have four legitimate tackles (George Uko, J.R. Tavai, Antwaun Woods and Greg Townsend Jr.).

At the end of the day, any true disappointment comes in the form of losing out on a 3-star D-lineman.

Not too bad if you ask me.

So smile, Trojan fans, USC did very well in 2011 and Kiffin has proven once again that his stewardship of the football program is in very capable hands.

And watch out in 2013 now that Trojans have 18 scholarships to offer.

Trojan Nation can't wait.