Thomas Herring Pulls the Trigger

Los Angeles (Calif.) Fremont two way lineman Thomas Herring

has finally decided to end the speculation about whether or not he has committed to USC. What has been rumored for some time is finally official as the Trojans have added yet another Hot 100 selection.

“I’m very excited and happy to be a Trojan,” Herring said. “It’s all about Coach O (Orgeron). That’s my guy and the main reason I’m coming. I can’t wait to play for him and be a part of the defensive line that USC has right now. Basically, I’ve known I wanted to go to USC for some time but I wanted to wait things out because my mom wasn’t at peace with it just yet.

“She kind of wanted me to get away from home because she thought it would help me grow up more as a man. Then Coach Carroll came over to our house on Thursday and talked with her and after he left, she told me she was fine with me going to USC. I was going to visit LSU this weekend but my uncle had a stroke so I didn’t to stay local. I called up Coach O and asked if I could come up for a day and he told me I should come up for the whole weekend because this was a big weekend for them with a lot of top players coming in.

“I had a blast and I’m still trying to recover. I talked with Coach Carroll and Coach O about what my role would be and they said they wanted me to play where Kenechi played on the edge. They didn’t promise me anything but said if I work hard, there’s a good chance I could play next year. I asked if I could wear my old No. 7 and he told me I could so I’m excited about that. It’s going to be great. Me, Chilo (Rachal), Rocky (Hinds) and Eugene (Germany) are all talking about being roommates when we get there next fall and I’m just pumped up to get in there and see what we all can do.”

Herring, 6-6, 300 pounds is actually rated as one of the nation’s premier offensive linemen but it sounds like he’ll start off on the defensive line. The athlete has incredible upside and is as physically gifted as any player in the West region this year.