Recruiting notes: Passing Down SoCal 7-on-7 Regional

FONTANA, Calif. – The Passing Down SoCal Elite 7on7 Regional was held here Sunday, and plenty of the top prospects in the area were in attendance. Here are the latest recruiting news and notes.

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Five-star Amon-Ra St. Brown is thinking about an unofficial visit to USC soon as the Trojans continue to be one of the early frontrunners in his recruitment.

“I like USC a lot,” St. Brown said.

“They really turned the program around. Three years ago I didn’t even want to go to USC. Ever since last year what they did with a new quarterback and coach (Clay) Helton, he’s doing great things up there, so that’s a school I’m really looking at.”

Other than a trip to USC, the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout is hoping to visit Michigan if it can be worked out and it’s possible he takes another Stanford trip.

St. Brown’s oldest brother, Equanimeous, plays at Notre Dame and his middle brother, Osiris, is headed to Stanford.

The top-rated cornerback in California, four-star Isaac Taylor-Stuart, recently landed new offers from Florida State, Ohio State and Auburn.

All three are big for the San Diego (Calif.) St. Augustine star, and over the next few months Taylor-Stuart is seriously considering trips to Ohio State and Michigan.

Buckeyes pledge Jaiden Woodbey, from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, talked up Taylor-Stuart to the Ohio State coaches.

“That one was really big,” Taylor-Stuart said. “Jaiden Woodbey told the coaches about me and we started talking. I called up the coach and coach Urban Meyer came on the phone and he said, ‘Isaac, we just saw your film and we think you’re the best corner right now.’”

Other than those two trips this summer, the four-star cornerback said he could visit Nebraska and Oregon soon.

Former USC commit Manuel Allen might be thinking about another pledge soon.

The four-star receiver said Nebraska, Cal, Ole Miss, Oregon and UCLA have been most aggressively recruiting him since he backed off his pledge recently.

“I’ve been thinking about another commitment,” Allen said. “I’m not going to say where, but me and the coaches are very close and it’s a great place.”

As for upcoming visits, Allen said he’ll be at the Nebraska spring game and then plans to see Oregon and Ole Miss as well.

Washington was one of the clear frontrunners for four-star Chase Williams, but he has not talked with new Huskies WR coach Matt Lubick, so Williams said he’s not sure where he stands with the Pac-12 power.

This upcoming week the Corona (Calif.) Roosevelt recruit, who has mainly played defensive back this spring but is also a top receiver, will visit Notre Dame and Ohio State. The Buckeyes haven’t offered yet, but he’s hoping after the coaches see him in person that things pick up.

The four-star will also visit Arizona State in early April and then head to the Nebraska spring game. As for position, Williams is open to both – especially going back to offense if necessary.

“I’ve been playing more defensive back but at the same time I still play receiver, so I’d say coaches are recruiting me at athlete,” Williams said.

So far, UCLA, USC, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Arizona State have been the most active in his recruitment.

Chris Steele remains happily committed to UCLA, but the 2019 prospect is still being aggressively recruited by USC, Ohio State and others.

The Trojans are saying they could use him like Su’a Cravens, the former five-star safety/linebacker who’s now with the Washington Redskins.

Steele plans to visit Ohio State with Woodbey – who was in Columbus this weekend – and the Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco recruit is also going to see Michigan State and Notre Dame soon.

Nebraska, USC and UCLA remain the frontrunners for four-star Bryan Addison, who probably projects as a safety in college, and an upcoming trip to Lincoln for the Huskers’ spring game could be important.

“I just want to see what the fans are like, how the stadium looks, how Nebraska feels to me,” Addison said.

UCLA has been a longtime favorite since he had family go there, but he hasn’t visited much yet. USC remains high since so many other Gardena (Calif.) Serra prospects have gone there, plus he has a great relationship with the coaching staff.

Hank Bachmeier is a top 2019 quarterback in the West, and the Murrieta (Calif.) Murrieta Valley standout is hearing from plenty of new schools.

Texas A&M, Penn State, South Carolina, Washington State, Cal, Washington and Ohio State have been reaching out to Bachmeier, who has already received offers from Colorado, UCLA and Fresno State.

The 2019 quarterback said he hopes to hear more from Oregon and Oregon State along with Notre Dame and Michigan.

One of the hottest receivers in the West is Ontario (Calif.) Colony’s Michael Ezeike, who recently landed offers from UCLA, Colorado, Oregon, Vanderbilt and others.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound recruit said the Bruins and Ducks are standing out the most and he hopes to visit both programs soon. Ezeike, who’s only played football for three years, said Nebraska, Tennessee, Miami and TCU are showing new interest.

Four-star linebacker Raymond Scott has been committed to USC for a while, and the Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne standout seems content.

“Happily committed, 100 percent,” Scott said.

“The atmosphere, the family atmosphere from the coaches to the students to the staff to everybody around, everything belongs together. I feel like I belong there. I love the atmosphere around.”

Despite his pledge, Scott said he still listens to all coaches out of respect and that UCLA, Oregon and Oklahoma among others continue to pursue him.