Bosco vs. Mater Dei: Recruiting notes ahead of titanic matchup
Arguably the top-two teams in high school football meet up Friday night when Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco travels to Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei for the annual clash between the two Trinity League rivals.
By our count, there are 66 players with offers that will be on the field at Santa Ana Stadium. Here are some recruiting news and notes on some of them heading into the matchup.
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Oregon, Oklahoma and Ohio State are the three schools on the visit list for Baker, and he recently returned from Eugene where he had an excellent time. The Ducks could have the edge right now, especially as he’s hit it off with that coaching staff, but the Buckeyes are coming on strong and there’s a lot of respect for the coaches in Norman as well. USC absolutely will be in this race as well as the Trojans look to reinforce the line of scrimmage - and a local talent like Baker wouldn’t hurt.
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The 2024 four-star quarterback who’s already thrown for 1,376 yards with 17 touchdowns so far this season has been a little more challenging to figure out because while other QBs in his class are coming off the board, Brown seems to be in no rush at all. USC and Oregon are definitely two to watch in the coming months, but Washington, Cal, Stanford, Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and others are involved, too.
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The 2024 four-star defensive back from Mater Dei has tremendous length and instincts, so his recruitment should remain busy through his junior season and beyond. At a game earlier this season, Brown was wearing USC gloves and the Trojans are definitely high on the list, but he said it wasn’t a recruiting statement, more that the gloves matched his jersey. Still, USC will be right there until the end as Penn State, Alabama, Michigan State and Nebraska are some others to watch.
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There is going to be some serious SEC talk around Carter’s recruitment, especially after the massive 2024 offensive lineman took visits to the Southeast this summer and had some great visits. Texas and others will be in the mix as well, but the early guess is that USC looks strongest in his recruitment. On the field, Carter is a physical and tough force of nature but off the field he’s on the quieter side, so staying closer to home wouldn’t be a shocker. Plus, he is a regular at USC home games.
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Alabama, Georgia and Texas are three schools to definitely monitor in Davison’s early recruitment, but the team to beat right now is Ohio State. The 2025 standout running back from Mater Dei was in Columbus for the Buckeyes’ big win over Notre Dame and he closely watched how they use their backs. He also said hello to Ezekiel Elliott, one of his idols, and it just feels a lot like Ohio State has captured his attention the most. It’s still very early though.
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After being committed to Cal for more than six months, Jones backed off that pledge heading into his senior season and now has a new list of teams to watch in his recruitment. The four-star safety from Bosco has had interest in Colorado, UCLA, Louisville and Oregon State. The Golden Bears remain high as well, so they cannot be totally disregarded moving forward. With the coaching change at Colorado it would be surprising to see Jones head to Boulder, but it is likely he stays in the Pac-12 so UCLA would make a ton of sense.
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A 2024 four-star linebacker at Bosco, Lockhart made an early commitment to Ole Miss in January and so far there has been no serious discussion of a flip. His brother, Danny, plays for the Rebels and Lockhart loves the coaching staff - starting with Lane Kiffin - and the big-time SEC environment in Oxford. However, Alabama has offered and that could become an issue for Ole Miss moving forward, and USC is now involved as well. Lockhart visited with the Trojans in late July and they will absolutely play a factor as his recruitment goes through his junior season.
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A Louisville commit since late May, the four-star receiver from Bosco is now looking at trips to Texas and Georgia and others cannot be counted out. This is not necessarily a sign the Cardinals are slipping in his recruitment - as other California prospects, including numerous teammates, are committed there as well - but Texas did finish second in his recruitment and the Bulldogs are also coming on strong. Until Moore takes all of these visits, his recruitment could remain in flux.
It remains a two-team battle for the four-star linebacker from Mater Dei as Arizona and Stanford have leapt ahead in Su’a’s recruitment. The two Pac-12 schools offer vastly different things as the family feel, the coaching staff and many friends on the team in Tucson all play a role for Su’a. When it comes to Stanford, it’s the coaching staff and especially the education that are standing out. At some point, Su’a will decide which one to pick.
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This could boil down to a two-team race between Ohio State and Oregon, and it’s widely believed the Buckeyes would be considered the frontrunner at this point. The high four-star defensive end had an excellent time in Columbus earlier this season for Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame, and he hit it off with the players and coaches there. Going away for school like his brother, DJ, is definitely a serious consideration. Oregon is making a strong pitch, though, and a visit there earlier this season when Bosco played at Autzen Stadium is on his mind. USC and Alabama would be the others to watch.
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A new offer from Georgia is definitely big, and the Bulldogs are now much more on Viliamu-Asa’s radar, and Ohio State is going to play an impactful role in his recruitment as well, especially after he visited Columbus. But this feels like he’s USC’s recruitment to lose. The 2024 four-star inside linebacker is a throwback to the Polynesian heavy-hitters the Trojans used to recruit, and Viliamu-Asa has all the ability to follow in their footsteps.
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Notre Dame remains a serious contender for Woodyard, and the Irish coaching staff has made him a big-time priority, but Ohio State has made up tons of ground and might really be the team to watch in his recruitment now. It’s probably too close to call and there could have been some post-visit euphoria, but it sounded like the Buckeyes made huge leaps after he was in Columbus for their win over the Irish earlier this season. USC and others will be in the mix, but Woodyard will have Ohio State and Notre Dame there until the end.