Recruiting Rumblings: 4-star DB Ayden Hector talks USC, details top 6 list

It's been a wild month on the recruiting calendar for USC. The Trojans reeled in a wave of commitments over the last few weeks, and then in the last week momentum went the other direction as a number of key targets committed elsewhere or trimmed their lists with USC not making the cut.

With a couple notable exceptions.

Ayden Hector, a 4-star defensive back from Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish, Wash., put out his top 6 list a couple days ago with the Trojans squarely in the mix. Washington, Stanford, Cal, Alabama and Oregon are the other programs still on his radar. (USC also made the cut for local 4-star cornerback Darion Green-Warren, out of Narbonne HS, as he put out his top 6 list last week.)

"It was pretty hard because I have been involved in the recruiting process since I was a freshman and you really get to know the people recruiting you," Hector told TrojanSports.com. "I had a top 10, but it made sense to narrow it to six to be fair to everyone in the process. The biggest factors to me were academics/coaching/opportunity/environment.

"The coaches on my list have really studied my play and know my versatility. These coaches have been in constant communication with me. Also, it was going to be hard to visit all the schools so I had to narrow the list down based on what seems to be a good fit for me athletically and academically. I have competed nationally since eighth grade and played against some of the best 2018, 2019, 2020s. These coaches know me and my potential and have done their own evaluation."

Hector, whose father played for USC, went in-depth with TrojanSports.com about those schools still in play in his recruitment and his process moving forward.