Luke Wafle showed up at USC carrying all the hype that comes with being the Trojans’ five-star defensive end, and the buzz around him hasn’t slowed down inside the program.
The freshman was the No. 1 overall prospect in Rivals’ 2026 class, a massive get for USC and a centerpiece of the school’s No. 1 recruiting class, the first non-SEC group to finish first since Miami in 2008. At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, the New Jersey native already looks built for the college game.
He backed up that reputation at Hun School, where he piled up 23 sacks and 37 tackles for loss as a senior. Then he went to the Navy All-American Game and earned MVP honors after posting three sacks.
But the talk around Wafle at USC’s Media Day wasn’t just about the measurables or the recruiting rankings. Veterans kept coming back to the way he handles himself.
“Seeing him come in as a freshman, he's super open-minded,” said senior defensive end Braylan Shelby. “Loves to learn from us, the older guys.
He has a bunch of people he looks up to. Super heavy work ethic.
I love the kid. He's become one of my best friends.”
Zuriah Fisher, who is entering his seventh season of college football, said in the spring that he had never seen anything quite like Wafle in a true freshman, on the field or off it. Fisher pointed to the way Wafle approaches his diet as part of what stands out.
“He's gonna be a dog,” Fisher said. “He's strong, he takes care of his body.”
Sophomore defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart, who was in a similar spot a year ago as a highly touted out-of-state lineman with big expectations, was just as direct.
“Luke got his head forward. He is gonna be a first round draft pick,” Stewart said.
The praise extended beyond the defensive line room. Junior linebacker Desman Stephens said Wafle’s game and his personality both stand out.
“He's a talented kid. He's strong as I don't know what,” Stephens said.
“He's a great person off the field too. No ego, no character issues, nothing like that.
He's just a great guy.”
That kind of response helps explain why Wafle is expected to play a real role right away. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Jadyn Walker put it plainly: “Dude's a freaking monster,” he said.
USC has spent recent recruiting cycles and the transfer portal trying to build a defensive front that can cause problems in the Big Ten, and Wafle sits right at the center of that plan. With Kameryn Crawford and Shelby already having logged plenty of college snaps and finishing first and second on the team in sacks, Wafle still has a path to making an immediate impact when the Trojans open against San Jose State on Aug. 29.
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