Bryce Young was serious about other programs. This was not an open-and-shut case.
Oklahoma made a huge impression. Washington was intriguing. Texas kept coming after the 2020 four-star quarterback.
But USC was always a front-runner in Young’s recruitment and on Wednesday - his birthday - the new Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei quarterback committed to the Trojans.
“It was really the family environment,” Young said. “I’ve known coach (Clay) Helton since eighth grade and (quarterbacks) coach (Bryan) Ellis and when I first met them they made me really feel at home, they made me feel like family. I really see myself fitting into their system, it’s really similar to Mater Dei so it’s going to be a smooth transition.
“I know a lot of people there. It’s home for me. Just the environment and the coaching staff, I definitely see myself spending a lot of time with coach Helton, coach Ellis and coach (Tee) Martin and that was a big factor for me.”
USC’s quarterback tradition certainly did not hurt as commitment day came for Young, who threw for 3,431 yards with 41 touchdowns and three interceptions and he also rushed for eight scores as a sophomore at Los Angeles Cathedral.
“You look at the tradition of SC and you see what their quarterbacks have done in the past and what they’ve done after SC so I’ve seen that tradition that comes with being an SC quarterback,” Young said.
“It’s definitely something I looked at and it’s impressive and it played a big factor for me. Playing in the Coliseum, playing in front of the fan base, that’s going to be fun for me.”
Just last year, five-star quarterback JT Daniels was leading Santa Ana Mater Dei. He picked USC and is in contention for the starting job. Matt Barkley played at that high school as well. There’s something of a Mater Dei-to-USC pipeline and it’s special to Young but he admits wherever he was playing the Trojans would have been tough to beat.
“There’s a Mater Dei pipeline but I feel for me regardless if I stayed at Cathedral or any other school, whatever would have happened, I know for a fact I would still feel the same way about SC,” Young said.
“Family-wise, the environment, the coaching staff, everything they’ve done, I felt that at Cathedral, too. Wherever I was I know I would have felt the same way.”
