West Spotlight: Five biggest recruiting surprises so far this fall

This year has seen no shortage of surprises, and those surprises have not subsided with the dawn of the fall season. From surprise commitments to class changes and the effects of COVID-19, recruiting in the West has continued to see surprises develop this fall.

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Jake Garcia has moved around a lot to different high schools in California, but it was a complete surprise when the four-star quarterback and USC commit decided to leave the state for Georgia to have a senior season.

Rated as the fourth-best quarterback in the 2021 class, Garcia initially moved to Valdosta, Ga., but then after being ruled ineligible because of transfer rules, the high four-star landed at Loganville (Ga.) Grayson, where he made his debut this past weekend. That brings him to a total of five high schools in four years.

As for his recruitment, Garcia has remained steadfast in his USC commitment, even with the addition of four-star quarterback Miller Moss and the Trojans recently offering hotshot Jaxson Dart in the last few weeks. Miami has appealed to him, but even with his move to the Southeast, Garcia looks locked in with USC for now.

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Jake Garcia and Miller Moss are already committed to USC. That seemed like the end of it for the Trojans and quarterback recruiting, but that might not be the case.

In recent weeks, the Trojans extended an offer to Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon standout Jaxson Dart, who is having an unbelievably good senior season and has USC, Arizona State, UCLA, Iowa State and Washington State in the running.

According to some sources, the thinking is that USC’s only scholarship quarterback next season will be Kedon Slovis, so a lot of help will be needed. USC could have gone the transfer route, but with Dart having such a terrific season with 3,750 passing yards, 53 touchdowns and two interceptions, the Trojans feel he might be the best option.

When all is said and done, Dart could be the best quarterback in USC’s class if he ends up picking the Trojans.

Korey Foreman was committed to Clemson. Then he wasn’t. Then Georgia seemed to be piquing his interest. Then the Bulldogs kind of slid down the list a little bit. But LSU has definitely made a major impression on the five-star defensive end and No. 1 prospect in the 2021 class. We will see if the Tigers have staying power, especially after how poorly that defense has been playing early in the season.

USC and LSU are the frontrunners for the Corona (Calif.) Centennial standout but it could still be a while until Foreman makes his final choice. It was supposed to happen at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, but that’s been canceled so another plan is being worked out in its place.

Playing in the SEC is a draw. Playing with close friend Maason Smith is also a draw, and Smith is expected to end up in Baton Rouge. But USC still has an ability to pull local talent, and Foreman would be a major surprise in that recruiting class - one of the biggest in recent memory.

As many states around the country have returned to playing high school football (Utah is already entering the playoffs), California is still having a difficult time figuring out when teams can start, what a season would look like and even whether a high school football season will happen at all in Los Angeles County.

Teams in that county can return to conditioning with restrictions starting next week. The planned start of practice in mid-December and then games from there looks highly unlikely, at least in parts of Southern California because L.A. County is still in the purple tier (widespread coronavirus transmission).

According to sources, high-level coaches at some powerhouse private schools in Southern California are asking if they can move practices and games out of Los Angeles County to Orange County, which has looser restrictions and in some cases is only a few miles away. There are plenty of other rumors swirling around, and there is much uncertainty about what the winter and early spring will look like in the state.

Decommitment season is upon us across the country - except in the West region, where it has remained surprisingly calm and largely uneventful.

In California, seven of the top eight players there are committed to out-of-state schools, and not one has given even the slightest hint they’re looking around. Nineteen of the top 22 players have made their commitments with no one backing off pledges in recent months.

The top 15 prospects from Arizona have all made their commitments and there's not a whisper of players looking elsewhere.