5-Star QB Prospect Jake Garcia Commits to USC over Alabama, Auburn, Miami, More

Jake Garcia won't help USC's current quarterback crisis, but the 5-star recruit provided the Trojans with some good news Monday.   

Garcia announced he has committed to USC:

A native of Harbor City, California, he's the No. 3 pro-style quarterback and No. 14 player in the 2021 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. Alabama, Auburn and Miami were among the schools chasing him.

Garcia explained his decision to USCFootball.com's Chris Trevino:

"It felt like home. It's a testament to the coaching over there when you have two new quarterbacks to the system step in and take over without missing a beat, just play and take over the team as a leader," Garcia told USCFootball.com. "That was really impressive to me. I get a long with the coaching staff real well, Coach (Graham) Harrell, head coach Clay Helton. They have athletes over there. A lot, a lot of athletes....and a lot of my family can go to the games. I grew all around USC stuff when I was little. My whole family are SC fans so that's really cool."

The Trojans are already down to their third quarterback through four games. JT Daniels suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener against Fresno State. The team then placed backup quarterback Kedon Slovis in the concussion protocol after he exited last Friday's upset of 10th-ranked Utah. 

Jack Sears would've come into the picture at some point had he not entered the transfer portal in August after Daniels was named the starter. Instead, Matt Fink is the No. 1 option for the time being.

This season has shown USC can't have enough depth at quarterback. Even though Daniels (sophomore) and Slovis (freshman) have plenty of eligibility remaining, Trojans head coach Clay Helton needed to get another marquee passer for 2021.

The big question is whether Helton will be around to coach Garcia.

Helton had one of the hottest seats in college football coming into the year, and many wondered whether athletic director Lynn Swann's resignation made his future a fait accompli.

In addition to the program's general on-field struggles—capped off by just five wins in 2018—USC's profile was taking a big hit on the recruiting trail. After sitting fourth in 247Sports' composite team rankings for 2018, the Trojans slipped to 20th in 2019. They're 62nd for 2020 but have time to turn things around.

Bryce Young, the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in 2020, decommitted from USC on Sunday and quickly announced he was going to Alabama instead.

Although Helton and his staff still need to address the lack of top-end talent coming into the team for next season, Garcia points to what should be a bright future in Los Angeles.