Aydan Steen is already on the radar at USC, and the Santa Margarita linebacker is starting to look like the kind of prospect the Trojans keep circling back to.
Steen, a 2030 linebacker from Santa Margarita (Calif.), landed his USC offer in eighth grade after his time with the OC Buckeyes, a well-known Southern California youth program. Miami, SMU and UCLA had already jumped in before he ever played a snap of high school football, which tells you how early his name got around.
Now he’s backing up the buzz on Friday nights.
A source close to the program said in July, during a passing tournament, that Santa Margarita had gotten better at linebacker because of Steen. That’s no small statement for a program that won the Open Division state championship last year, the top division in California.
Steen then stepped onto the varsity stage and made the point himself. In his first game, he piled up 10 tackles and three sacks in a win over Jones (Fla.).
The next week, he added a sack in a win over Corona Centennial in a much-hyped rematch of last season’s CIF Southern Section Division I Championship.
“It’s been a big opportunity. I’m just glad I got to be on the field with my teammates,” Steen said.
His recruitment has started to pick up more steam, too. Ohio State offered on Sept. 1, adding another major program to the mix.
USC has stayed active with him throughout the process. Steen was among a group of top recruits who worked out with the Trojans coaching staff at an invite-only camp on June 11. He worked directly with linebackers coach Mike Ekeler and AJ Howard, and he said he’s already carried what he learned there into his own game.
He was back on campus for USC’s Aug. 29 home game against San Jose State, and the visit came with a look at the school’s new Bloom Football Performance Center, which opened in early August. The recovery room and the investment in players’ daily lives stood out to him.
“I love the facility a lot,” Steen said. “The facility is top of the art. One of the best I’ve seen so far.”
The game itself gave him another window into what it takes to play at the college level. He saw the speed and the pace up close, and he also watched a group of USC freshmen make immediate noise, including Trent Mosley, who attended Santa Margarita.
“I watched him as I was looking at Santa Margarita, and he was just explosive,” Steen said. “One of the best players on the field every time he played, so that really means a lot.”
USC’s connection to Santa Margarita runs deep. The school is coached by former Trojans Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Carson Palmer, while former USC offensive lineman Lenny Vandermade is the offensive coordinator. The Trojans also have five players on the roster from the Trinity League power, plus a commitment from 2027 three-star defensive lineman Isaia Vandermade, who has already pushed Steen to stay home.
Steen has family pressure in the mix as well. His uncle, Jason Steen, played at USC.
“He’s a huge USC bandwagon. He loves it a lot, so I have to listen to him every day about how I should go to USC,” Steen said.
The daily grind is no joke for Steen, either. He gets up at 5:00 a.m. every day to make the 45-minute drive to Santa Margarita, then doesn’t get back home until 8:15 p.m. He says his family keeps everything on track.
“I have a big support system around me. I got my mom and my dad, and then my little brother,” Steen said.
“They help me manage everything. I look at them for everything.”
That kind of commitment comes with the territory in the Trinity League, where the talent level is loaded and the competition is relentless. Steen said the chance to play at Santa Margarita was worth it because of the people around the program.
“Elite coaching staff. You have coach Steve Fifita, one of the best around right now," Steen said.
"You have Carson Palmer, one of the best, and then you have my linebacker coach Robert Thomas. He lived in this experience, and he did it.
I just want to follow his footsteps and be the best I could be.”
USC has kept making the Trinity League a priority in its recruiting. The Trojans signed eight players from the conference in the 2026 class, or nine if you count linebacker Talanoa Ili, who spent his first three seasons at Orange Lutheran (Calif.).
Three of those freshmen started on offense in the season opener. In the 2027 class, USC already has four commitments from the conference, or five if cornerback Aaryn “J.O.”
Washington is included after playing his first three seasons at Mater Dei.
Even with Steen still early in his high school career, USC is clearly paying close attention.
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