Rising Stars MVP recaps USC experience

After winning the defensive line most valuable player award at USC's Rising Stars camp, Rivals100 defensive end Russell Ude was a pretty popular man among the Trojans coaches.

"They were really impressed with what I was able to do," said Ude, who measured in at 6-foot-3.5 and 264 pounds. "They knew I could play but they wanted to see me do it in person and they were happy about my size. Coach Wilson pulled me aside after camp and asked me if they offered where they would stand with me."

Ude has been hoping to earn an offer from the Trojans for most of the process and he let Wilson know that if an offer does come, USC will be in serious consideration.

"I told them they would be near the top of my list if not the top," Ude said. "He really liked hearing that because they wanted to make sure I was legitimately interested in them. When he talked to my dad he told me that they're taking four guys and they have two committed. They're looking to take two more and he thinks that I could be one of those guys that receives an offer and he wants me to call him later this week to talk about it."

During the trip to Southern California Ude also visited UCLA, a strong contender for his services. He said he didn't want to compare the two just yet, but he enjoyed what he saw of USC's campus.

"It was great," he said. "It was a nice campus and it was good to see the tradition and all that stuff. It was great getting to work out with Coach Wilson again and to see and learn from some of the great defensive linemen they have on their team right now."

After leaving Los Angeles on Friday Ude was headed north to visit California and Stanford. He said he plans to touch base with the Trojans next week to get an answer about an offer.

"It would be pretty important to me to get the offer from them," he said. "It would be huge. USC was a school I grew up loving so to get an offer from essentially my dram school would be huge. But there's a difference between dreams and reality. It's all about fits. After my visit I think I would be a really good fit there, it's just up to them to see if they feel the same way."

When it comes to a decision, Ude said he will know when the time is right.

"I don't have a timeline at all," he said. "I could commit this week or it could be three months from now. It all depends on the feeling I get and I think I'll know when I'm ready."