USC Recruiting: Trojan's Find Themselves a Specialty Player

USC recruiting since the NCAA leveled their punishment to the Trojans has undergone a major shift in strategy.

It has been reported before that Lane Kiffin and company, mindful of the reduced amount of scholarships available, have reduced their offers to prospective Trojans almost to a trickle.

In fact, only three prep players since the sanctions were imposed have received scholarship offers, with one, kicker Andre Heidari, having taken USC up on the offer.

However, this doesn't mean that USC and the Trojan recruiting brain trust are just sitting idly by.

Today, according to Scout.com, long snapper Peter McBride from Chaparral high school in Scottsdale, AZ has accepted an offer to fill an unglamorous but very necessary position on special teams.

McBride, rated the No. 2 long snapper in the nation, comes with glowing credentials, including good size (6'2," 210 pounds) and a good attitude.

In Scout.com's biography of McBride, Chris Rubio writes, "He has it all. McBride is a very smooth and consistent long snapper. Ball is like a laser and on target. Great long frame that will be able to put on some extra weight in college. Runs well and ball is tight. Very solid pick. He has all the tools for greatness."

Rubio goes on to say of McBride, "Once the blocking is all polished he could be a five star snapper."

Pretty heady stuff.

Because McBride is a very good student (3.8 GPA), he can graduate early and enroll at mid-year, which was encumbant for an USC offer because with McBride's early enrollment it won't count against the limited scholarships that USC now possesses.

In any event, the long snapper position, despite the lack of notoriety that accompanies it, is critical for a successful football team.

With this position now addressed, the Trojans can return their attention to other players.

That is if coach Kiffin can be tempted to pry loose with one of those scholarship offers that seemed so plentiful not so long ago.