When Floyd Boucard opened up his recruitment in mid September, it surprised many.

But it turns out even before he initially committed to Oklahoma, USC was a program still heavy on his mind. So much so, a return trip to Los Angeles was set soon after he opened the process.

The trip went down last weekend, and before leaving town, the Miami (Fla.) Central defensive tackle gave Lincoln Riley his word on becoming a Trojan. Boucard went public with the commitment on Thursday afternoon.

"Big flip coming down, I'm going to USC. I'm gonna be a Trojan," he told Rivals. "The rotation over there with coach Henny (Eric Henderson) is amazing and I want to play as a true freshman. I want to come in, be a dog and play.

"My connection with Lincoln Riley is really, really, really tight. Me and him talk almost every day...that means a lot. When I went over there, I looked in his eyes and told him. He said, 'you're gonna be great. You just made the best decision of your life.' He promised me that, and I put my trust and faith in him. He's gonna make me a superstar on and off the field."

CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Top 100

TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker

USC never slowed down in courting Boucard, even when he picked OU back in July. And it came from Riley himself.

"He said he would still talk to me every day, and I asked why would he do that?" Boucard said. "He (Riley) said, 'I already know what's gonna happen. You're going to rock with me...'

"In my mind I was 100 percent committed (to Oklahoma), so I guess he predicted the future. I feel like he did the same when he said they'll make me a great player. So that's why I have a lot of faith in what he's saying."

Before USC emerged as the front-runner, the Canada native admitted there was a lack of knowledge relative to the Trojans strong football history and tradition, not to mention the academic angle on campus.

The pair of trips to town since the summer, as well as those in Boucard's camp, helped to fill in some gaps along the way. But the feeling towards jumping in with the program was always there.

"I've always liked USC," he said. "The numbers never lie. Coach Henny is doing a great job over there, the rotation is great and I had a great relationship with the head coach.

"So when it wasn't working out with Oklahoma, I already knew where home was."

Another factor in the pick was the peer recruiting with other commitments on campus over the weekend, including five-star quarterback Julian Lewis.

"He (Lewis) was like, 'I really wish you came down here..." he said. "I wasn't trying to spoil it for him (laughing). He was good to talk with. Seems like a good teammate, a good leader. He is very mature for his age and I'm looking forward to being his teammate."

Boucard had considerable interest from other programs once he opened up his recruiting process, but he and his camp insist this is the final decision to be made before pen meets paper during the Early Signing Period in December.

"This is it," he said of his recruitment. "It's locked down!

"Just know when I come in, I'll be an underdog, but I'll be coming for it all."

The Thursday pledge should mark the end of the process for Boucard, who reiterated his focus is back with Miami Central on Friday nights ahead of an early enrollment at USC.