Alabama Crimson Tide to Land Former USC Trojans Commit, Recruit Xavier Griffin?

Steve Wiltfong of On3 logged his expert prediction in late May about where he believes Griffin will commit to. He predicts that Griffin will end up committing to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Earlier this month, Griffin visited Alabama. Additionally last week, Griffin reposted on his story the report that he was predicted to commit to Alabama. 

The Alabama Crimson Tide have been fairly quiet so far in recruiting for 2026. They have only received the commitments from two class of 2026 recruits; four-star athlete Ryan Gibson and three-star edge rusher Kamhariyan Johnson. 

Xavier Griffin Player Profile

Xavier Griffin is a 6-3, 200 pound linebacker out of Gainesville, Georgia. Griffin is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 8 overall prospect in the class of 2026 according to 247Sports. Griffin was evaluated by director of scouting Andrew Ivins. 

“Multi-faceted defender with a top-flight testing profiled that should offer both on and off ball linebacker as he can rush there passer and stack against the run while also dropping back into coverage,” Ivins said. “Fires out of both two and three point stance in the blink of an eye and will get around obstacles with his slick agility and lateral quickness.”

Ivins projects Griffin to end up being an impact player in the Big Ten or SEC. 

“Must keep evolving and developing craft while improving play strength, but projects was a potential impact player in the Big Ten or SEC that can fit into a variety of different schemes with his athletic juice and alignment flex,” Ivins said.

USC Trojans’ 2026 Recruiting Class

Even without landing Xavier Griffin, the USC Trojans 2026 recruiting class is loaded. USC has received the commitments from 30 players in the class of 2026. 247Sports ranks this Trojans class No. 1. 

It is headlined by five-star offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe and five-star tight end Mark Bowman. Lincoln Riley is on pace to have his best recruiting class yet since taking the USC job prior to the 2022 season.

Riley's first season with then Trojans was a memorable one. USC went 11-3, with quarterback Caleb Williams winning the 2022 Heisman trophy. Since then, USC has failed to win more than seven games in the regular season.

USC just sneaked into a bowl game in 2023 and 2024; going 7-5 and then 6-6 in the regular season. The Trojans won the Holiday Bowl in 2023 and the Las Vegas Bowl in 2024.