After losing OT Carde Smith, the USC Trojans were in dire need of adding another offensive lineman to their 2025 class. Well, they didn’t waste any time.
We wrote just last night that 4-star OT Alex Payne had received a crystal ball to flip from North Carolina to USC. Now it is official that Payne will be committing to the USC Trojans.
USC Trojans Land Alex Payne
As we mentioned last night, per industry rankings, Paye is actually an upgrade over Carde Smith.
The 6’5, 285-pound OT out of Gainsville, Georgia is the 15th-ranked OT in the 2025 class.
He had mentioned in previous interviews that he had some concerns about being far away from home as he had never been west of Tennessee.
He told On3.com, “I’m headed west. At first, I thought, no way, that’s too far away from home. But the more I talked with the coaches through FaceTime conversations almost daily and really getting to know them, I could start seeing myself playing for those guys.
“Last weekend, when the opportunity for an official visit came up, we said as a family, we can’t worry about the distance because something great may be meant for me out there. So we made the trip and I’m glad we did or I would have never known what was in Southern California waiting on me.”
Related: USC Trojans 2025 Recruiting Class
Whatever you think about Lincoln Riley and his staff, they have been extremely successful with official visits this season and have seemingly always received glowing reviews.
There is also the added bonus that the Trojans are building a fairly strong “Georgia family” out here in LA.
Temeka Marks, Woody Marks’ mom tweeted this out in regards to Payne potentially flipping:
This is a huge get for Josh Henson and the Trojans as they continue to build out their 2025 offensive line. They are not done yet, expect at least one more commitment to happen before signing day.