USC offers former 5-star EDGE Antonio Alfano
USC has extended a new offer and it is quite an interesting one. On Monday afternoon, former Alabama five-star defensive line signee Antonio Alfano announced he has received an offer from the Trojans.
Alfano is current playing out his 2023 season at Lackawanna C.C. in Scranton, Pa.
In the month of October, Alfano has picked up offers from USC, Texas, LSU, Tennessee, UCF, Ole Miss, Florida, and Nebraska.
Alfano initially enrolled at Alabama as one of the top prospects in the 2019 recruiting class, but things didn’t work out and he wouldn’t be with the Crimson Tide for long, despite his status as one of the most high-profile recruits in the class.
USC also offered Alfano when he was coming out of the high school ranks.
According to the On3 Consensus recruiting rankings, Alfano was the No. 9 overall player in the nation in 2019 and the top defensive line prospect in the class.
He is currently ranked as the 4th overall junior college prospect and the No. 1 EDGE recruit in On3’s rankings.
Before ending up in JUCO
After enrolling at Alabama and going through spring practices in 2019, Alfano ended up transferring out to Colorado. Things took an interesting turn after Antonio Alfano arrived at Colorado, having committed to coach Mel Tucker.
Tucker, for one, left for the open Michigan State job, leaving Alfano without the coach he’d committed to. He then was suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules after Karl Dorrell took over as head coach. Alfano also began to have issues with epilepsy.
While at Colorado he experienced some scary epileptic seizures that prevented him from playing. Noted Colorado coach Karl Dorrell at the time, via the Denver Post: “We don’t quite have a handle on his medical situation well enough to be released to practice and to compete right now.”
Unable to play at Colorado, Alfano left and would later wind up at Independence Community College in Kansas, where he spent that spring. He then embarked upon a JUCO opportunity at Lackawanna C.C. in Scranton, Pa.
Medically cleared and working out again, Alfano worked to get back into the FBS ranks. He now has received many opportunities to do just that.
Alfano spoke with USA Today about his opportunity at the junior college level.
“In all, these experiences have humbled me. They showed me why the legends are legendary. Showed me the work it takes to get there,” Alfano said. “But (it) also showed me when you start thinking too much of yourself and think you’re invincible, how quickly God will humble you to your knees and that’s exactly what happened.”
