ESPN Junior 300 Griffin devotes to Riley, USC

• Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff WriterJul 27, 2024, 08:28 PM ET

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  Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He signed up with ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.Lincoln Riley and USC

landed the program’s highest-rated commitment in the 2026 class Saturday evening with a promise from four-star defensive end Xavier Griffin.The 6-foot-4, 210-pound pass rusher is the No.

21 prospect in the ESPN Junior 300 and the third-ranked protective end in the 2026 class, per ESPN rankings. Griffin, a standout skill from Gainesville, Florida, is the fourth-ranked recruit from the state of Florida in his class and chooses the Trojans from a list of offers that consists of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon, among others.Editor’s Picks

2 Related With his promise, Griffin

ends up being the fifth and highest-ranked player committed to Riley’s 2026 class at USC. Griffin is the program’s 3rd ESPN 300 commit in 2026, signing up with cornerbacks Brandon Lockhart (No. 67 in the ESPN Junior 300)and Dominick Kelly(No. 248 ). Wide receiver Ja’Myron Baker and security Madden Riordan fill out the remainder of the class Riley has set to join the Trojans in 2026. Griffin tallied 54 overall tackles with 15 sacks and 2 forced fumbles as a sophomore at Gainesville High School last fall. He dedicates to USC following trips to Alabama and Florida State this spring.Griffin’s pledge marks the most significant increase yet to Riley’s 2026 class at USC. The Trojans’ 2025 ranks 24th in ESPN’s newest group rankings for the cycle following a set of high-profile decommitments from defensive linemen Justus Terry (No. 7 in the 2025 ESPN 300)and Isaiah Gibson(No. 30)earlier this summertime.