USC Trojans, Lincoln Riley To Land 4-Star Recruit Talanoa Ili During Official Visit?

Before he transferred to the islands in the spring, the highly coveted linebacker was a three-year starter at Orange Lutheran (Calif.) high school in Orange County, which is located just 40 miles from USC’s campus. Ili has been a priority target for quite some time. He was a standout as a freshman playing in the daunted Trinity League, a conference that features national powerhouses Mater Dei and St. John Bosco. 

Despite being in a different time zone, the Trojans still have been in heavy pursuit of Ili, the same way if he were still in their backyard every day. Each visit to campus this calendar has swayed the four-star recruit in USC’s direction. 

Ili was on campus for the Trojans Junior Day event in early February, which was an eye-opening experience. It was his first opportunity to be around new general manager Chad Bowden, who has put an emphasis on Southern California prospects, something that still applies to Ili. He also met new linebackers coach Rob Ryan. 

Ili returned to Los Angeles in March for a more in-depth look at USC. He was given a tour of the campus and spent an extended period of time with Bowden and the defensive staff. Ili then walked the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at sunset. 

Ili’s family attended a USC spring practice in April. Ryan and defensive ends coach Shaun Nua then traveled to the islands twice in May for an in-home visit with Ili. The Trojans understand the importance of not only recruiting the high school prospect, but also their families.

USC commits Santa Margarita (Calif.) four-star EDGE Simote Katoanga and Mater Dei four-star defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui will be taking their official visits this weekend, and that should only help the Trojans because Topui and Kotanga have been actively recruiting Ili. Katoanga, Topui and Ili were three of the biggest standouts on defense in the Trinity League for the 2026 cycle. The idea of them playing together at the college level is intriguing. 

Katoanga, Topui and the Trojans staff will be pushing to make this weekend the last official visit Ili takes this summer. He still has official visits to Notre Dame, Oregon and Texas, but that could quickly change.

USC has been successful in bringing home another blue-chip prospect in IMG Academy (Fla.) five-star offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe, who was born and raised in Southern California. He too will be taking his official visit this weekend. 

Other recruits that will be on campus include DeSoto (Texas) four-star receiver Ethan “Boobie” Feaster, Panther Creek (Texas) four-star receiver Jalen Lott and Duluth (Ga.) four-star cornerback Peyton Dyer. 

And the other USC commits that will be taking their official visits include, Archbishop Hoban (Ohio) five-star cornerback Elbert Hill, Santa Margarita (Calif.) four-star receiver Trent Mosley, Harvey (Ohio) four-star running back Shahn Alston, St. John Bosco (Calif.) three-star cornerback Joshua Holland, Opelousas (La.) three-star receiver Roderick Tezeno, Valor Christian (Colo.) three-star IOL Kannon Smith and Fremont (Calif.) three-star EDGE Andrew Williams.