USC Trojans 5-Star Recruits Elbert Hill, Keenyi Pepe, Mark Bowman Headline Prized Recruiting Class

USC turned up its pursuit of Hill at the turn of the year. Hill and his family visited Los Angeles for the first time in late January and were blown away by their time on campus. USC coach Lincoln Riley and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn each visited him in Ohio that same month. 

Hill was back on campus twice this spring, once at the of March and then at the end of April for the Trojan Olympics, before announcing his pledge to USC on May 2 over Oregon, Ohio State and Alabama. Since then, Hill has continued to be a frequent visitor on campus. 

The five-star cornerback took his official visit the weekend of June 6, was back at USC the following weekend with legendary Trojans safety Ronnie Lott on campus. He also worked out in front of coaching staff at one of the camps last month.

“Hill is a total football player and very dynamic. He has grown almost two inches over the last few years, and is now 5-11, which has greatly enhanced his value on the perimeter,” wrote ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill. “He's a leaper as well allowing him to mask some height deficiencies. He plays on both sides of the ball with tremendous ball and playmaker skills. 

Bringing Pepe back to Southern California was a priority for the Trojans. The IMG Academy product is originally from Long Beach, and his older brother, Kobe Pepe, is a redshirt senior defensive lineman at USC. They were able to land the five-star prospect on May 1 over the likes of Florida, Georgia, Miami and Texas. 

Pepe is one of four offensive tackles the Trojans hold a commitment from in the 2026 cycle.

“Coming out of IMG, Pepe is a prospect who has faced strong competition in practice and games,” wrote ESPN recruiting coordinator Craig Haubert. “He gives the Trojans a big man who can play a key role early in his career much like Paige, who stepped in as a starter as a redshirt freshman last season. Pepe is a massive presence at roughly 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds with excellent arm length. He is more than just a big body as he is also light on his feet for his size and has good flexibility. 

“He can continue to work on and be more consistent in some technical areas but demonstrated as a junior at the Under Armour All-America game that he is competitive, wants to learn and get better and can match up and battle against elite edge rushers. Pepe has the tools to be a starter and anchor the Trojans OL and could end up being a nice replacement for Paige at left tackle in the future.”

Despite Bowman playing his high school football less than 50 miles from USC’s campus, the Trojans were behind the eight ball for Bowman when he reclassified from the 2027 to the 2026 class earlier this year. 

Bowman ramped up its pursuit when Bowden and Savage arrived and led the charge for the No. 1 rated tight end. Georgia, Texas and Alabama were considered the favorites for Bowman heading into official visit season, but it was the USC who landed a commitment from the highly coveted pass-catcher on May 30.