USC Trojans predicted to land waffling top-100 defender over Ohio State despite very peculiar relationship with GM Chad Bowden
If you have been following the recruitment of Princeton (N.J.) The Hun School defensive end Luke Wafle over the last several days, it has been a mess. Scheduled to make his college decision today at 2 PM eastern time, things have been all over the place between the USC Trojans and Ohio State Buckeyes. They are […]
If you have been following the recruitment of Princeton (N.J.) The Hun School defensive end Luke Wafle over the last several days, it has been a mess. Scheduled to make his college decision today at 2 PM eastern time, things have been all over the place between the USC Trojans and Ohio State Buckeyes. They are the two finalists for the talented defender.
Wafle took an official visit to USC this past week, and coming out the On3 vice president of recruiting Steve Wiltfong had said that the Trojans went from “dark horse to favorite” for him. Then Wiltfong went back on that prediction shortly after, citing that Ohio State had countered well. The Buckeyes felt like they would win out.
Then this morning, we were once again dealt with a change of heart. Heading into that decision, USC is once again viewed as the selection. There has been a battle from an NIL perspective, and the Trojans haven’t gone away.
If Wafle does end up picking USC, it would be an interesting fit with general manager Chad Bowden. He previously held the same position with the Notre Dame program, having overseen the recruiting operation since the 2022 recruiting class. Back in the 2023 class, Bowden actually helped to land a commitment from Luke’s older brother Owen.
He was the first commitment for head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish in that class, but was eventually dropped by the staff. Wafle ended up signing with Michigan, and has since transferred to Penn State this offseason. It’s very interesting to see that the Wafle family is still comfortable with Bowden even after what happened to his brother.
Regardless, Wafle would be a huge get for the Trojans if he does commit later today. The dynamic defensive end would become the 30th commitment in the class for the Trojans.
Wafle is considered a consensus four-star player across every major recruiting platform. On3 has him rated as the No. 14 overall player, No. 4 EDGE, and No. 1 player in the state of New Jersey for the 2026 recruiting class. He is also rated as the No. 55 overall player and No. 6 EDGE in the class according to the 247Sports Composite ranking.
Outside of his finalists, Wafle has been pursued by a long list of heavy hitters. Some of his other top offers includes Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oklahoma, Michigan, Tennessee, Clemson, Miami, Florida State, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Kentucky, Maryland, Stanford, Syracuse, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Duke, Boston College, and Rutgers among many others.
The 6-6, 250-pound pass rusher was a menace for the Hun School as a junior. In nine games, Wafle recorded 53 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and eight more quarterback hurries. He was also used a bit on offense, and it is expected that he could expand his overall role as a senior.
‘USC went from darkhorse to favorite’ for top-100 defender while trying to best the likes of Ohio State, Texas, and Florida
USC Trojans trending quickly for top-100 defender
