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JT Daniels took a number of visits, did an exorbitant amount of research on his four favorites and on Sunday the 2019 five-star quarterback was prepared to make his commitment.

One day after returning from an excellent visit to Michigan, which really gave the Wolverines a lot of hope, the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout pledged to USC.

The trip to Ann Arbor was phenomenal, according to Daniels’ father, Steve. He raved about the chalk talk session of the trip, loved the time spent with assistant coach Pep Hamilton and overall the Wolverines did an incredible job trying to sway the best quarterback in the 2019 class.

But USC was too tough to beat.

The Trojans had really emerged recently, although Daniels had watched the hometown school closely basically all his life, and after a few recent visits there USC had really become one of the frontrunners.

All along, Daniels wanted to make a decision before his junior season started and Daniels’ father explained that he wants to focus on Mater Dei and also recruiting for the school of his choice and now he’ll have that opportunity.

On Saturday, Daniels released a top four of USC, Michigan, Stanford and Washington.

One of the things most important in Daniels’ decision was the opportunity to run a pro-style offense. That was really a driving factor for all the schools he was considering and he’s confident USC will afford him that opportunity.

Something else that stuck out majorly for USC was the skill players the Trojans routinely bring in.

Used to throwing to four-star Osiris St. Brown and five-star Amon-Ra St. Brown among others along with top receivers on his 7-on-7 team, Daniels was looking for a place to showcase his skills alongside top receivers. He felt USC gave him the best chance to do that.

The quarterback situation at USC really didn’t play a huge role in his final thinking, either. The 2019 five-star was not swayed positively or negatively on whether Sam Darnold returns after this season or if five-star quarterback Justin Fields ends up with the Trojans this recruiting cycle, which now seems like a stretch.

Daniels, who attends the same school as former five-star and No. 1 prospect in the 2009 class Matt Barkley, is among the top quarterbacks in the country, regardless of class.

In his sophomore season, he completed more than 74 percent of his passes for 4,849 yards with 67 touchdowns and six interceptions.

He could be the most college-ready quarterback to come through California in the Rivals.com era.