Juarez decommits from USC
In only the last couple days, USC fired coach Steve Sarkisian and lost both five-star commits, Mique Juarez and Daelin Hayes.
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There is trouble with the Trojans.
Juarez, the top-rated prospect in the state out of Torrance (Calif.) North, was already considered a soft commit, but he decided on Tuesday morning to completely reopen his recruitment in light of what has been going on with the USC program.
Sarkisian was placed on an indefinite leave of absence this weekend and then terminated on Monday after a weekend incident where he missed practice. He has since reportedly checked into a residential treatment facility.
Juarez, rated fifth overall in the 2016 class, said he and his family felt it was just time to re-examine his recruitment. UCLA is a serious contender and he continues to work on his official visit schedule but nothing has been finalized yet.
Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Ohio State and others have been prominently mentioned in his recruitment as well.
"Yes, I did (de-commit)," Juarez said. "I called and left voicemails to the coaches and texted them on Twitter. My family and I thought it was the best to leave, to open my recruitment."
As for Hayes, the five-star outside linebacker from Ann Arbor (Mich.) Skyline has long said his USC commitment is firm. But Notre Dame has played a major role in his recruitment recently and he took an unofficial visit to South Bend for the season-opener against Texas.
He de-committed this week as the USC situation continued to unravel and the third-best outside linebacker in the class is taking an official visit to South Bend this weekend, coincidentally when the Trojans are in town. It is believed Notre Dame has emerged as the favorite.
Other prospects don't seem as willing to jump ship yet, but some like four-star offensive linemen Frank Martin and Nathan Smith said they are now considering other official visits.
Four-star wide receivers Josh Imatorbhebhe and Velus Jones, both from the Southeast, could explore other options as well. Michael Pittman, a four-star WR from Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian, said he remains 100 percent committed as long as assistant coach Clay Helton remains on staff.
Helton is currently the interim coach. A national search is expected to find Sarkisian's replacement.
One source said that USC better hire a "big-time coach" and keep wide receivers coach Tee Martin on staff or the Trojans could lose some other top-flight players in this recruiting class.
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