OL Alani Noa Commits to USC
Mammoth 3-Star OL Alani Noa from Grant Union HS in Sacramento (CA) announced his commitment to USC today.
His relationships developed on and since his USC official visit played a significant factor in Noa’s decision. So did the direction he sees the USC football program heading.
“Hanging out with Micah and Amos, as soon as I met them I felt like we were brothers,” said Noa. “It was like an automatic connection. That’s played a real big role in my decision. I also really liked how the coaches made you feel at home and you can be yourself. You feel like you’re family.
“I think the potential is great. You can see the potential with the coaches and players…..especially the incoming recruiting class. USC has big potential and I would really want to be as part of that. Potential is see in Coach (Josh) Henson coming from Texas A&M and developing guys for the NFL there. He has some pretty good accolades.”
USC should have a pretty solid offensive line in 2022, at least solid enough for it not to be an issue. When we talk about offensive line issues, we’re talking about the kind that land quarterbacks on the surgeon’s table.
The early guess is a starting five of LT Courtland Ford, LG Andrew Vorhees, C Brett Neilon, RG Justin Dedich and RT Jonah Monheim. UVA Transfer Bobby Haskins could emerge at one of the tackle spots depending on how Fall Camp goes.
Fall Camp began Friday (8/5), so all we previously had was speculation about O-Line options since Spring Ball. The five I’ve listed aren’t who I believe will start come September 3, but they were our favorites heading into Spring Ball….and still are for this season.
I have little doubt offensive line play will provide adequate protection for QB Caleb Williams and open lanes for Travis Dye, Darwin Barlow, Austin Jones and Raleek Brown this season. But Lincoln Riley, Josh Henson and the USC staff have been going hard for Big-Time guys from the 2023 class to add quality future depth.
No longer is USC hoping they can sign top West Coast O-Line talent. This year USC will be saying no to guys who were top options in years past. The Trojans already have commitments from two of their top OL targets in Micah Banuelos and Amos Talalele. They hope to add Alani Noa in the near future. That would mean Josh Henson got his top Interior OL from the West Coast.
