Laying the Foundation: USC Football Recruiting, 2011 (Jalen Grimble)

Another weekend, another huge USC verbal commitment.

Following in his cousin's impressive footsteps, Jalen Grimble, a four-star defensive end (as rated by Scout.com), verbally committed to the Trojans on Saturday.

Xavier Grimble, the highest-rated prep tight end in 2009, will enter USC in the fall and is immediately expected to vie for playing time.

Now the Trojans have another "Grimble."

Cousin Jalen, a physical specimen at 6'3", 255 pounds, is also supremely athletic and will be an impact player at the next level.

Jalen Grimble joins defensive tackle Antwuan Woods and quarterback Max Wittek as 2010 prep verbals to the Trojans.

For the Trojans, the timing will be perfect.

While USC is stocked right now with defensive-ends, by the time Grimble is ready to see the field, the Trojans will need talented rushers on the edges.

And in Jalen Grimble, they will have a tailor-made replacement to plug in.

Slowly but surely, the Trojans' recruiting plans are starting to crystallize as Ed Orgeron and company start reeling in these early verbal commitments.

With two defensive linemen in the fold, USC can now start targeting areas of need elsewhere.

Of course, with the good in prep recruiting also comes the bad, and recently the Trojans have seen some high school players they had offered come off the board.

Ben Koyack, a five-star tight end from Pennsylvania, recently committed to Notre Dame.

USC was a long shot at best with Koyack, who, I am sure, looked at the three highly-rated prep tight ends, including Xavier Grimble, that the Trojans have coming in the fall and went where the competition will not be nearly as stringent.

Also off the board is running back Herschel Sims, who decided to verbal to Oklahoma State.

Sims was a player the Trojans like, but now they will have to turn their attention elsewhere.

Could that elsewhere be running back Aaron Green from San Antonio, Texas?

Perhaps, as he is the only five-star prep player that the Trojans haven't offered yet.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame remained hot on the recruiting trail with Matt Hegarty, a 6'6", 260 pound offensive tackle that the Trojans coveted, giving the Fighting Irish his verbal last week.

The Trojans need O-linemen, and Hegarty would have been a nice "get," but now USC will focus on others for the offensive line.

One of these new USC targets for the O-line is in our short list of new offers made to prospective future Trojans:

Angelo Mangiro

This massive 6'3", 295 pound guard from New Jersey, rated by Scout.com as a four-star player, has a great motor and is as strong as a bull. Mangiro's forte is run blocking, but he has the football acumen to round his pass blocking out to become a complete player.

Mangiro holds dozens of scholarship offers and lists them all as "medium" in terms of his interest.

Charone Peake

You would think that with all the wide receivers the Trojans have coming in the fall that this position would be low on USC's priority list, but that isn't the Trojan way. Skill positions such as wide receiver are always needed, and in Charone Peake, the Trojans think they have found a good one. Big (6'3") and athletic, Peake has the size and grace that the Trojans always recruit.

Though Peake only has a few offers, they are from most of the "big boys" in the country. Right now, Clemson appears to be the leader for his services, but USC remains in the hunt.

Arik Armstead

If the name sounds familiar, it should. Arik's brother Armond is currently tearing it up as a defensive end for the Trojans, and his "little" brother (6'7", 265 lbs.) can play on either side of the line. Arik Armstead is a 2012 "future" recruit who garnered state recognition as a sophomore, and with his athleticism (he also plays basketball), the Trojans think he can be a special player in the future.

Armstead holds offers from many Pac-10 schools and lists them all as "medium" on his suitor list.

That will do it for this installment of the goings-on in the Trojan recruiting world.

For the Trojans, they will hope that every report of Trojan recruiting contains a verbal such as the one this contained on Jalen Grimble.

And with Ed Orgeron on the recruiting trail, the prospects for Trojan verbals on the horizon look positive indeed.