4-star linebacker Xavier Griffin, the No. 29 total recruit within the 2026 ESPN 300, has decommitted from USC, sources informed ESPN on Wednesday.
Griffin, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound defender from Gainesville, Georgia, had been pledged to the Trojans since July 2024. ESPN’s third-ranked defender within the present cycle had stood among the many prime prospects in coach Lincoln Riley’s star-studded 2026 recruiting class.
Griffin’s choice to drag his pledge from USC stemmed from a want to schedule official visits elsewhere, sources informed ESPN. That went towards USC’s coverage towards dedicated prospects taking official journeys to different campuses. Upon his decommitment, Griffin is now set to embark on a slate of official visits over the following months with stops at Alabama, Florida State, Georgia and Texas.
His departure marks the primary vital blow to a Trojans recruiting class that holds extra ESPN 300 pledges — 13 — than every other program within the 2026 cycle. 5-star prospects Elbert Hill (No. 15 total) and Keenyi Pepe (No. 17) turned the newest elite prospects to announce commitments to USC earlier this month, following 9 different ESPN 300 recruits who’ve joined this system’s incoming class since Jan. 1.
ESPN nationwide recruiting analyst Craig Haubert listed the Trojans, who maintain 27 whole commitments, at No. 1 in his most up-to-date 2026 class rankings earlier this month.
A lean, bodily linebacker, Griffin has established himself throughout two varsity seasons at Gainesville (Georgia) Excessive Faculty, logging 97 whole tackles and 21 sacks over his sophomore and junior years. He took unofficial visits to Florida State, Tennessee and Texas, amongst others, earlier this spring previous to Wednesday’s decommitment.
