Lincoln Riley continues to raid offensive talent from Oklahoma’s recruiting classes with five-star athlete Makai Lemon committing to USC football.
Oklahoma’s 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes were anchored by offensive playmakers from Southern California.
So when Lincoln Riley flipped to USC, it appeared inevitable recruits would too.
Makai Lemon became the third recruit to prove that theory right on Friday when the former Sooners commit made his pledge to the Trojans.
USC football recruiting hits it big again with Makai Lemon
Lemon announced his commitment on Twitter saying, “This is home.”
It was a similar story for class of 2022 running back Raleek Brown of Mater Dei and Lemon’s Los Alamitos teammate Malachi Nelson, another class of 2023 prospect.
All three committed to Oklahoma to play for Riley. All three have now followed him home to stay home with USC.
Lemon ranks as the No. 27 player in the class of 2023, ranking second among athletes in the 247Sports Composite.
Gabe Brooks of 247Sports projected him as a future first-round pick as a receiver or defensive back.
In 2021, Lemon had 1,062 yards and 15 touchdowns as a receiver. He had four interceptions and eight pass breakups as a defensive back.
USC still has a lot of work to do on the recruiting trail to get the 2022 class up to par but Riley has already added three five-star commitments to the mix in less than a week of recruiting for the Trojans.
As for Oklahoma, their new head coach should find it a lot harder to pick talent out of Los Angeles going forward.
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