USC Football Recruiting: Chips Continue To Fall, Trojans Add 4-Star JC Safety

A week or so ago, Lane Kiffin promised USC fans that there would be no repeat of this year's disappointing 8-5 season.

To ensure this promise would be kept, Kiffin vowed to hit the recruiting pavement hard and search high and low for impact players to bolster the Trojans in all areas.

Boy, he wasn't kidding.

Less than 24 hours after all-everything wide receiver George Farmer Jr. gave the Trojans his verbal commitment, USC has landed one of the best JC safeties in the nation.

Isiah Wiley, rated by Scout.com as a 4-star prospect, gives the Trojans some sorely needed depth in the defensive backfield.

Wiley, a 6'1", 188 lb. converted corner back, provides the Trojans with versatility and nastiness.

Oh, and he is a legitimate 4.40 40 guy to boot.

In Wiley, USC receives an undersized safety with great instincts and a nose for the ball.

According to scouting reports, although Wiley needs to put on weight, he is a ferocious hitter whose toughness is only exceeded by physical talent.

While 188 lb. safeties are rare in upper division college football, look for Wiley to add weight to a frame that can surely accommodate it.

However, with his speed, Wiley may also get a long look back at the position, corner back, where most of his experience lies.

Prior to his Trojan commitment, Wiley had verballed to Arkansas, but a late November visit to USC apparently swayed him to come West.

What isn't known at this time is whether or not Wiley can enroll early thus saving USC a precious scholarship, but suspicion has it that this may be the case.

In any event, Wiley is well regarded, polished and is expected to make an immediate contribution for the Trojans in 2011.

So it appears Lane Kiffin wasn't kidding when he said he and his staff would hit the recruiting trail hard after the Trojans closed the season out with a victory against UCLA.

This hard work is paying dividends already, and there are still high profile players still seriously considering USC.

We'll have to see what comes now, but Kiffin and company are off to a great start with his promises to focus on recruiting.

And this kind of promise keeping should make make Trojan fans very happy in 2011.