USC hosts 2015 Midwest DE
One of the hottest sophomore prospects in the Midwest is St. Paul (Minn.) Cretin-Derham Hall defensive end Jashon Cornell. On Saturday, Cornell utilized a spring break trip to California as a chance to attend a USC spring practice.
"It was mostly just a spring break trip with my friends, but I was interested in seeing USC and some of the schools on the West Coast," Cornell said.
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Cornell said the "diversity, education, the environment" of USC were some of the main draws. He timed up his trip with the Trojan's spring practices on Saturday.
"Wathing them practice/scrimmage was awesome," Cornell said. "Just watching Coach O (Ed Orgeron) going after the D-line was really funny and cool to watch.
"But the thing I liked the most at their practice was the Oklahoma Drill. I saw all the players going after each other."
"I saw most of the campus, which was really beautiful, and I saw a lot of the diverse culture and people there. It also felt really good to be in the place where the 1984 Olympics was held. All of the statues and history that was put in the Coliseum was very exciting."
Cornell spent time talking with Orgeron as well as head coach Lane Kiffin, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, strength and conditioning coach Aaron Ausmus and his area recruiter, Mike Ekeler during his time on campus. He received strong feedback regarding the Trojan's interest.
"Coach Kiffin [and] Coach O said they're going to be recruiting me hard from now on after what they saw me do on film," Cornell said.
The visit to USC also gave Cornell a chance to catch back up with freshman wide receiver Nelson Agholor. Although they are from different parts of the country, Cornell and Agholor have worked with many of the same people and known each other for some time.
The trip to USC was the only one Cornell was able to take during his trip to the West Coast. The 6-foot-4, 227-pound class of 2015 prospect now goes into the Spring Evaluation Period already holding offers from Iowa, Minnesota and Rutgers.