2008 standout makes early decision

USC landed their second commitment for the class of 2008 when they landed Anaheim (Calif.) Servite offensive lineman Matt Kalil. Kalil is the younger brother of current Trojan All-American center Ryan and might even have more upside than his talented sibling.

Kalil, 6-6, 265 pounds first caught our eye as a sophomore when he started every game for the Friars and earned 1st team all-state underclass honors. He then came out to the NIKE Camp at Stanford and was among the top five offensive linemen in attendance. He has great size, long arms and really competes.

In fact, no one took more reps in the one on one drills than Kalil and at this early point in the season, he's among the top two junior offensive lineman we've seen in the state along with Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei's Khaled Holmes. The lineman is a natural left tackle prospect with his size and athleticism and should be a cinch for Hot 100 mention a year from now.

"They offered him Monday night and he committed on the spot," Kalil's father Frank said. "He talked to Coach Kiffin and then Coach Carroll got on the phone and they offered him. He was really honored because USC is such a special place and they do a lot of research before offering someone so he was excited. He talked to Ryan and he was happy for him too, he told Matt if he went anywhere else, he was going to throw him around a little.

"He's always wanted to go to USC so there was no point in putting it off. He was hearing from everyone, I couldn't believe how much mail he was getting. You name a school, they were sending mail and Colorado, Miami, Arizona, Nebraska, Mississippi and San Diego State had all offered but once SC offered, that was really it for him."

Kalil is the third Friar player and second junior to make a commitment to the Trojans joining linebacker Chris Galippo and fellow junior D.J. Shoemate.

"All three of those guys are very close, basically best friends," Frank said. "They always talked about going to SC together and so they're all pretty excited about how it all came about. I'm excited too, before all is said and done, I guess I'll be at USC for nine years now but there is nothing wrong with that."

We'll try and hook up later tonight with Matt himself to get his thoughts on his decision.