Top player in the nation Korey Foreman signs with USC

Photo: Luis Sinco LA Times

Michael Huntley January 3, 2021 @ 10:15 AM

Centennial (Corona) defensive end and top recruit in the nation [player_tooltip player_id="25023" first="Korey" last="Foreman"] announced his commitment to USC on Saturday during the All-American Bowl Declaration Day broadcast on NBC. USC was Foreman’s dream school at the beginning of his recruitment but the ups and downs of the football program in recent years made him weary. During that timeframe, other schools made strong recruiting pitches to Foreman and he committed to Clemson in February, before opening his recruitment back up on April 21. https://twitter.com/USC_FB/status/1345487494121463808?s=20 The Trojans vastly improved this season and Clay Helton’s job feels more secure now than it did a year ago at this time. That played a big factor in Foreman’s decision. “The biggest selling point for me with USC was the improvement I saw from them this year from a year ago,” Foreman told Greg Biggins of 247Sports. “You can tell the new staff is making an impact and you can tell they’re on the right path." “They may not have always won every game pretty, but reality is, they won a lot of games and that’s important. I think you can see how the team came together and with our class coming in, I think we can take the program back to where it belongs. Foreman made it clear from the beginning of his recruitment that he wants to play three years in college before entering the NFL draft. The success of USC’s defensive front helped set the Trojans apart. “I’m seeing guys come out of the blue, guys that were under the radar and are now NFL prospects. I think the mindset of the whole team right now is on being great and that’s something important to me," Foreman said. "Of course I’ve been watching Drake (Jackson) closely the last two years and he’s balling. He’s looking great and that’s my guy right there. I loved playing with him my sophomore year, we had a lot of success playing opposite each other and I can’t wait to get back to playing with him again." The USC coaching staff worked tirelessly to recruit Foreman, even when he was verbally committed to Clemson. Donte Williams, Vic So’oto and Clay Helton all talked to Foreman regularly and made him feel comfortable. https://twitter.com/keelyismyname/status/1345487866462277632?s=20 "I talk with those guys on a daily basis and they’re recruiting me really hard. They made me a huge priority, even when I was committed to Clemson. You could tell they didn’t want the top player in the country to leave home and they did a great job with me the whole year," Foreman said. Foreman signed with the Trojans on the early signing day on December 18, but was waiting to announce publicly until the All-American Bowl Declaration Day broadcast. <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/11/update-on-states-no-1-recruit-korey-foreman/">According to his father</a>, he always wanted to commit during the All-American game, but when it was canceled, this was the next best thing. He is the top recruit in the state <a href="https://prepredzone.com/california/rankings/2021-rankings/">according to Prep Redzone</a> and the top recruit in the nation according to 247Sports and Rivals. Foreman is the No. 3 overall prospect in the nation according to ESPN. Entering Saturday, USC had the No. 14 recruiting class in the nation according to 247Sports. After the commitments of Foreman and [player_tooltip player_id="25031" first="Ceyair" last="Wright"], the Trojans now have the No. 8 ranked recruiting class in the nation.