College Football 2012: Will Jordan Payton De-Commit from USC?

One of the best receivers on the West Coast, Jordan Payton, received a scholarship offer from USC the spring before his junior season and pounced on it.

At 6'2", 200 pounds with 4.5 speed, Payton comes form the same school of Oaks Christian (CA) that produced current Trojans Marc Tyler and Marshall Jones, along with other college football stars like Jimmy Clausen and Duke Lemmens.

Payton has over 33 scores the past two seasons and has done it all against top high school competition. Oaks Christian is a powerhouse program that routinely schedules against other elite LA area and West Coast high school programs.

Payton's play on the big stage has made him a big time player and recruit, which is why Trojan fans were overjoyed with the news of his commitment.

However, lately it seems as if there is a good chance that Payton will not end up in Troy. He has been taking many visits to other schools, including showing up at Cal's Junior Day, heading to SMU, and visiting Colorado.

Florida, Miami, Notre Dame and Michigan, all elite programs, are all still recruiting Payton extremely hard.

He claims he's still solid with USC, but talks as if he's re-opened his recruitment. Payton recently told PonyPride.com, "I think that in either May or June I will start sitting down and really think about it. I don't want to deal with anything during the season so I will buckle down before then and make my final decision."

With top notch programs not only just showing interest, but on Payton's trail hard, things have gotten uncertain and cloudy in regards to his chances of ending up at USC.

Payton firmly still claims his commitment is solid to USC, and he has plans on spending more time at the school on spring weekends.

He's grown fond of new USC receivers coach, Todd Gilmore, and the two plan to start speaking even more as Gilmore makes the transition out west from Nebraska.

Yet, there is a chance that Payton de-commits from USC. It is not uncommon at all for committed players to take other visits and look at other schools, and Payton has stocked up a lot of frequent flyer miles.

He will make another visit to SMU in the summer, is planning a trip to South Bend to see Notre Dame, and will also head to Ann Arbor, Michigan in person.

I'm not saying it's certain he will de-commit, but I also have a slight feeling he's not as solid to USC as he claims.

Stay tuned.