USC’s push in California has put Santa Margarita cornerback Ca’ron “Prime” Williams squarely on the Trojans’ radar, and the four-star recruit sounds like he knows exactly why.
“I really feel they’re me making a priority," Williams said. "T Reed [cornerbacks coach Trovon Reed] always calling me, checking up on me, just building a great relationship with me.”
That relationship has been built over time. Williams has been to USC at least seven times over the past couple of years, splitting visits between games and practices while getting a closer look at Reed and the rest of the staff. Last month, he worked out with Reed during an invite-only prospect camp and also spent time with him in the film room.
Reed has quickly become one of the Trojans’ biggest weapons on the recruiting trail since arriving in January 2025. USC has already landed freshman Elbert Hill, the No. 1 cornerback in the 2026 class, along with 2027 four-star cornerbacks Danny Lang and Aaryn “J.O.” Washington, both top 100 prospects.
For Williams, the connection with Reed goes beyond football. He said the coach has that older brother feel that prospects around the country have noticed too.
“He always gonna check up on you, other than football,” Williams said.
Williams also has ties to USC’s current and future roster. He won an Open Division state championship last fall alongside three USC freshmen - receiver Trent Mosley, defensive end Simote Katoanga and cornerback Jayden Crowder - plus 2027 defensive lineman commit Isaia Vandermade. Former Trojans Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Carson Palmer was the one guiding that group, and Williams also played with redshirt freshman offensive tackle Elijah Vaikona.
That connection has mattered. Crowder and Mosley have been pushing him toward Los Angeles, and their pitch has been blunt: “If you want to win, you come to USC.”
Williams got another close look at the program this spring, visiting campus twice and seeing both his former teammates and the kind of talent USC has stacked together with its No. 1 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle and its returning production.
“They're building a great roster, championship roster with them, Trent, Mote, [Luke] Wafle," Williams said.
USC isn’t alone in the chase. Williams also worked out at Oregon, Ohio State and LSU last month. He spoke highly of his time in Eugene, and LSU, which offered him in May, has emerged as a school making a serious move.
The timeline is coming into focus, too. Williams plans to release his top 12 at the end of this month and says he is aiming to make his commitment around March of next year.
Before then, he expects to keep making the rounds. He still is sorting out his fall schedule, but he plans to be at the Coliseum at least twice for USC’s games against Oregon and Ohio State.
He also wants to get to Miami and is eyeing Ohio State vs. Texas in Austin in early September and Ohio State vs.
Michigan in Columbus in late November.
In Other News...
Brian Kelly Finally Admits The Staff Mistake That Doomed LSU
Brian Kellys latest reflection on his time at LSU offered a candid look at how much the early staffing plan mattered. He said not being able to bring over the coordinators he wanted from Notre Dame slowed the programs progress, and he pointed to the ripple effects that followed as the Tigers tried to settle the staff around him. Kelly also acknowledged the defensive side needed a reset after his second season, a sign that the structure he envisioned never quite took hold the way he hoped.
The offensive side brought its own complications once Mike Denbrock was gone and Joe Sloan was elevated into a bigger role. Kelly described Sloan as having to handle responsibilities that stretched him in some areas, which only added to the sense that LSU was constantly trying to patch things together while the foundation was still shifting. Meanwhile, the coaches Kelly once hoped to build around have kept climbing elsewhere, a reminder of how different the trajectory might have looked if those early moves had gone his way. [Read more 🡒]
LSU May Have Found The Receiver Kiffin's Offense Needs Most
LSU enters the 2026 season without a clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver, but the move to Lane Kiffin has already given the Tigers a different kind of certainty. The staff signed a talented group around the passing game, and one of the most intriguing pieces is Winston Watkins, the sophomore transfer from Ole Miss who arrives with a built-in understanding of Kiffins system and the kind of familiarity that can speed up a receivers transition in a new program.
Watkins also turned heads during spring practice, which only added to the sense that he could become a central part of the offense rather quickly. With LSU still sorting out where the biggest production will come from at receiver, his fit in this scheme makes him one of the more important names to watch as the Tigers try to climb in a conference race where the market has them sitting near the middle of the pack. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Just Got Hit With A Brutal Recruiting Reality Check
LSUs 2026 recruiting picture took a noticeable hit in the latest Rivals update, with several committed prospects sliding down the board and the class looking a little less polished than it did a week ago. The Tigers still have talent in the fold, but the overall read from the rankings change is clear enough: this group was downgraded, and the buzz around the class is not quite as loud as it had been.
For a staff trying to build momentum early in the cycle, those kinds of shifts matter because they shape how outsiders view the class and how much pressure builds around the recruiting effort. Some pledges held steady or even nudged up, but the broader takeaway is that LSU now has to answer a familiar question in recruiting, whether the current class can regain enough traction to match the expectations that come with the program. [Read more 🡒]