Laying the Foundation: USC Football Recruiting in 2009 (DJ Morgan)

In a season that has experienced many lows and few highs, the 2009 USC Trojan recruiting class has begun to follow suit.

DJ Morgan, the speedy tailback out of Woodland Hills, CA (Taft High) and rated the No. 36 top prep prospect by ESPN, tore his ACL in his last game.

This injury will end the season for Morgan and will require surgery.

DJ Morgan was the top running back prospect for the Trojans, a player whose speed and shifty moves are reminiscent of current Trojan tailback, Joe McKnight.

It should also be noted that recently there has been speculation that Morgan might forgo his verbal commitment to USC and join his brother at Arizona.

How this injury affects those plans is unclear.

What is clear is that this year's Trojan recruiting class, while deep in quality in certain areas, such as tight end, remains in a state of flux as many USC targets are withholding commitments until the Feb. 2 signing date draws near.

Meanwhile, other verbal commitments, such as Illinois wide receiver, Kyle Prater, are only considered "soft verbals," which in recruiting speak means prepare for signing day surprises.

Trojan faithful need only go back to last year to recall two of these signing day shocks, Morrel Pressley to UCLA and Vontaze Burfict to Arizona State.

The loss of Burfict, in particular, is one that still sticks in the craw of USC fans as Burfict would have looked awfully good in Cardinal and Gold right now.

Of course, in Burfict's case, there were eligibility issues involved in his decision to enroll at ASU so perhaps it just wasn't meant to be.

Nonetheless, there appears to be a disturbing trend where either opposing programs are badmouthing USC, costing them recruits or, and this might be even more disturbing, the luster has worn off the USC Trojan shine.

Either way, this is a critical year for USC to replenish its talent reserves, and this year's class will play a crucial role as the Trojans try to move on from a disappointing season.

The injury to Morgan, the soft status of Kyle Prater, and the transient state of verbal commitments to USC make this one of the more difficult recruiting seasons to project.

By Feb. 2, the signing day for high school recruits, this will all become crystal clear and the Trojans can move forward knowing what needs have been filled and which remain in question.

Expect the USC coaching staff to hit the recruiting trail long and hard between now and signing day.

After this year's team's disappointment on the field, a successful season recruiting will take some of the sour taste out of both the program and their fans mouth's and will provide an optimistic path to spring practice.

Lord knows the Trojans and their fans could use a smile right about now.