USC Trojans Battling Oklahoma, Nebraska, Notre Dame for Elite Defensive Line Recruit

Adam Gorney of Rivals reported that as Harmon's recruitment progresses, the Trojans' chances of landing him becoming slimmer and slimmer. USC offered Harmon on Jan. 7 and since then, the four-star defensive lineman has been offered by 15 other programs.

"There is a decent chance Harmon could easily pick USC and stay home. The Trojans are making him a major priority. But as his recruitment continues, it looks more and more likely that Harmon could head out of town," Gorney said.

Although Gorney said that Harmon could potentially spurn the Trojans, Rivals' Recruiting Prediction Machine has USC as the favorite for Harmon's commitment. The RPM gives the Trojans a 75 percent chance of landing the California native.

The No. 25 defensive lineman and No. 199 player in the country according to 247Sports' rankings, Harmon got offered by Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oklahoma among others after USC. He is the No. 3 defensive lineman in California and is among the Trojans' top in-state targets.

After visiting USC for the win over Michigan, Harmon spoke to 247Sports' Chris Treviño about his recruitment:

"I feel like my three front runners are still USC, Oklahoma and Oregon right now, but Nebraska and Tennessee, they've been on me lately," he said. "I actually just set up a visit with Nebraska, and then I'm working on Texas A&M right now. They're a school that I'm pretty big on. I talk to them quite often. So those three [new] schools are really schools that are kind of starting to open my eyes to more."

Diversity Among Defensive Linemen Recruits

USC cherry picked who they wanted for the 2026 recruiting class when it came to the defensive line. Out of their eight defensive linemen commits, four of them hail from a different state ranging from New Jersey to Texas.

They were able to snag four in-state defensive lineman in the 2026 cycle.

• Three-star DL Malik Brooks
• Three-star EDGE Andrew Williams
• Four-star DL Tomuhini Topui
• Four-star DL Simote Katoanga

If the Trojans were to land Harmon, he could be the start of another special in-state defensive line class. USC is also in pursuit of four-star athlete Jon Ioane, who the Trojans have been recruiting to play defensive line, as well as four-star defensive lineman Kasi Currie.

2027 Recruiting Prospects

The Trojans are in the midst of a heated recruiting battle with LSU and Miami for one of the top defensive linemen in the 2027 recruiting cycle. Five-star edge rusher Zyron Forstall is predicted to commit to USC according to the RPM, which gives the Trojans a 50 percent chance of landing the Louisiana native.

Forstall is one of the top recruits in the 2027 cycle, checking in as the No. 2 edge rusher and No. 8 player in the country according to 247Sports' rankings.

Combine Forstall and Harmon and the Trojans could have two foundational pieces to their 2027 recruiting class.