USC Should Be Worried That Notre Dame Will Flip 4-Star CB Chris Hawkins

The USC Trojans have a verbal commitment from 4-star cornerback Chris Hawkins, but they should be worried about his status and whether or not the Notre Dame Fighting Irish can get him to flip.

According to a report from Jason Sapp of 247Sports.com, who cites quotes from Hawkins' father via Scott Schrader of FightOn247, Notre Dame made a good impression with Hawkins on a visit this past weekend:

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“All we can say is Notre Dame has a classy program,” Hawkins’ father, Armond Sr., told Scott Schrader of FightOn247, noting that Chris would not be doing any interviews about the visit to South Bend. “He was very impressed with the coaching staff and the fans.”

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Hawkins' father then went on to say that Notre Dame might be getting another visit, via Sapp's report:

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“We’ll probably take an unofficial visit out there either after the Arizona State visit or the USC visit,” Armond Sr. shared with Schrader. “I’m going to give Chris a couple of days to think about everything and then we’ll make a final decision.”

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Lane Kiffin and the USC Trojans need to be worried that the Fighting Irish will be able to flip their 4-star verbal commit, as Notre Dame has a very good pitch.

Not only are they 6-0 and playing incredible defense, giving up just 8.7 points per game, but they have a huge need at cornerback moving into the future. That's been the Fighting Irish's biggest concern in regards to recruiting, and Brian Kelly has not yet been able to bring in a stud for his defensive secondary.

USC, on the other hand, already has two featured defensive backs in 5-star cornerback Jalen Ramsey and 5-star safety Su'a Cravens. The Fighting Irish have something that USC does not, and that's immediate playing time for Hawkins. That just may be a huge reason the 4-star corner appears so interested in them.

When you boil it down, Notre Dame has a great chance of getting the corner to sway, especially if he decides to check out South Bend again. They are building a strong program and can offer Hawkins a featured role in their future.

He may not get that opportunity with USC.

With a player like Ramsey committed to USC, Hawkins can only hope for a complimentary role on USC's defense moving forward. At Notre Dame he could be the star, and he'd also get a ton of recognition from the fans, as they all know how big of a need he would be filling in Kelly's 2013 recruiting class.

He's a talented corner that has been committed to USC since April, so he would be a big recruiting loss for Kiffin and crew. Hawkins seems to be setting himself up for a flip and Notre Dame seems to be setting itself up for a steal.

That's something that should worry USC.