USC Loses Top Guard

[johngateswhiteley]

...well, this blows.

James Wilson flips to Florida
by: Craig Haubert
posted: Thursday, January 18, 2007 | Print Entry
filed under: USC Trojans, Florida Gators, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Back in August, the Fighting Irish came up short in the battle for James Wilson (St. Augustine, Fla./Nease), the nation's No.1-rated guard, when he chose USC.

The Trojans now know a little bit about the Irish's pain, as they have now come up on the wrong end of a Wilson decision. The guard decided after being committed to the Trojans for several months that his heart was closer to home, and he wanted to be a Florida Gator. The Trojans, who currently have the No. 3 class, will survive without Wilson, but it always stings when you loss a player of his caliber.

James Wilson
Maxpreps/Gray Quetti
Earlier this week, James Wilson reversed a decision he made in August to attend USC over Florida.

USC still has one of the nation's top guard prospects in Kris O'Dowd (Tuscon, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic) on board, and they would have made an outstanding tandem.

What has turned out to be the Trojans loss is the Gators gain. The addition of Wilson is a big deal for this Florida class, currently ranked fifth, because it only had two other linemen on board so far.

The change of heart also reunites former Nease teammates Wilson and Tim Tebow. The Gators are reloading for a defense of their le, and luring players like Wilson away from schools like USC weakens other possible contenders down the stretch. A few more big gets like this, and we could find the Gators champs of the recruiting world as well.

[KewlKat00]

i can't be mad at him for staying home near his mother... but maybe he will change his mind again and come out here where his father lives.

at least we have o'dowd. and martin coleman is already enrolled and will participate in the spring. still would have been nice, but you win some and you lose some.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

USC Greatness in the NFL. It's incredible. USC's taint.

[young_prosecutor]

mike williams made roy williams look like roy williams

[KewlKat00]

i read today that meyer told wilson he would start. it would be hard to go against that especially when he more than likely wouldn't be playing for a little while here.

i really hope we can finish off strong here in the next few weeks. i really hope that kiffin's departure doesn't hurt (since he is the recruiting coordinator). i can't wait until signing day.