Brown makes the call

USC and UCLA haven't had too many head to head recruiting battles in the past few years but that's what it came down to for Pomona (Calif.) Diamond Ranch athlete Charles Brown.

Brown gave USC a soft commitment early in the football season but said all along he still wanted to take his visits. The athlete tripped to UCLA and also Oregon and then narrowed his choices to the Trojans and Bruins. After thinking things over, Brown made the call on Sunday.

"I'm going to USC," Brown said. "It was really tough, there was a brief time when it was UCLA but USC is always the school I had in my heart. They have the best coaching staff in the country and the program is very stable and I'm excited to get in there and learn from Coach Carroll and see what I can do there."

Brown, 6-6, 250 pounds is a tremendous talent who we feel has unlimited potential on the offensive line although he insists he'll be playing tight end.

"That's where every school recruited me and that's where I want to play," Brown said. "I think I can play there in college. I just need to work on my speed but I have the size and the hands already."

Diamond Ranch head coach Tom Leach added his two cents to Brown's recruitment.

"He was really confused for a few days there," Leach said. "One of my former players who knows him well called me up and said he thinks he's going to UCLA. Then the next day, Charles called me and said it's USC. He really liked Coach Dorrell at UCLA a lot but with USC being the No. 1 team in the country right now and the fact that we know Coach Carroll will be there for awhile, it was a great fit for him. At UCLA, he knows that they have to win next year or who knows what could happen and he just felt USC was a safer pick for him."

Leach said Brown was finally able to reach UCLA to let them know of his decision which is what held him back from announcing his decision publicly on Sunday.