USC moves way up for Petite

Tyler Petite took a spring break trip to Mexico and during that vacation the Northern California tight end landed big offers from USC and Washington.

The Trojans had always been considered one of the favorites for the Moraga (Calif.) Campolindo standout who looked good at the recent RCS Northern California and now with the offer he has a lot to consider.

With the offer, Petite said USC basically moves to No. 1 on his list.

"Probably right now they're at the top just because I really liked it when I got on campus down there," Petite said.

The 6-foot-4, 217-pound prospect liked a lot about USC - and it wasn't all football-related. Other things about the campus and the opportunities in Los Angeles were important to him and that's why the Trojans have moved way up.

"The football aspect was big," Petite said. "The coaching staff is great and up at Washington they used Austin Seferian-Jenkins so much and they're going to implement that into their offense now. It's also a place I could see myself without football. That's really important to me like if I got a career-ending injury I want a place I could still be at if I wasn't playing football.

"I like coach (Marques Tuiasosopo) a lot and he likes me. He really advocated for me as a player and helped get me this offer. It's really a double bonus really."

Stanford has also been considered one of the top choices for Petite but there are concerns. There are plenty of tight ends already there and the Cardinal offered him as an athlete. He's not even completely sure that program would use him on offense and it's something he needs to figure out soon.

"Stanford offered as an athlete so I'm still a little skeptical," Petite said. "I want to get out there and see because they have four tight ends right now. That might be an upward battle I might not want to go into and they might not want me playing tight end.

"I might be playing defense and to be honest I really want to play tight end in college. I don't have a defensive mindset and I have a knack for finding the ball so I think tight end is my best position. I'll go down there and talk to the staff and see what they say about it."