USC Football Recruiting: The Strange Story of Eddie Vanderdoes' Recruitment

Even up until this morning, USC fans had hope that 5-star DT and No. 6 overall prospect (via 247Sports) Eddie Vanderdoes from Auburn, CA’s Placer High School would wear the Cardinal and Gold. Then news started to trickle out, via USCFootball.com’s Gerard Martinez on Twitter, that Vanderdoes had eliminated USC from contention.

"

Hearing defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes has eliminated #USC from consideration. He will likely choose between #UCLAand #NotreDame.

— Gerard Martinez (@gmartlive) February 6, 2013"

What prompted this flip-flop of Vanderdoes? Not only did he decommit from USC in December, but two of the programs that have been reported to be in his top choices are USC’s biggest rivals—UCLA and Notre Dame.

USC was Vanderdoes’ top pick early in his recruiting process and he committed to the Trojans last July. After he decommitted in December—a shock to the Trojan fanbase—he took one more official visit in January and USC seemed to surge to the top pick for Vanderdoes once more. 

Vanderdoes visited Notre Dame in January and Alabama in February. UCLA and Washington were also under consideration.

Vanderdoes has been besieged by the media since his decommitment from USC in December. It is easy to forget sometimes, amidst the fervor, that these sought-after recruits are just 17-year-old kids. The process is overwhelming and Vanderdoes likely wasn’t 100 percent set on which school he would choose until he chose it.

In a press conference at his high school broadcast Wednesday evening by MaxPreps, Vanderdoes officially committed to head coach Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish.

The Notre Dame Vanderdoes commitment means Notre Dame landed four 5-star prospects for the first time in the Rivals era.

Amy is the lead USC football writer for B/R. Follow her on Twitter at @GridironGoddess