Steve Sarkisian may not have impressed USC fans and observers as a hire, but many top recruits took notice of the move.
Adoree Jackson of Serra High School in Gardena, Calif. (same school Marqise Lee and Robert Woods attended), who is a 5-star recruit and top-10 player in the country in Rivals’ rankings, tweeted some big things about Sark:
Coach Sark about to get a lot of West Coast recruits . Don't be fooled
— SWEET PEA (@AdoreeKnows) December 2, 2013
5-star running back Joe Mixon from Oakley, Calif., tweeted that Sark’s hire brought USC “back in the picture” for him:
USC is now back in the picture for me. #Fighton✌
— ⚡PRIMETIME!!!⚡ (@Joe_MainMixon) December 2, 2013
Mixon also had an in-home visit from UCLA’s coaching staff on Monday night. 247 Recruiting says he is strongly considering Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Cal. He also supposedly was warm on Washington, which would explain his interest in USC.
Jackson received offers from multiple major schools, and Rivals has his list narrowed to about a dozen programs, including USC, UCLA, Oregon, Michigan, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, among others.
In an interview with WeAreSC’s Blair Angulo, Jackson elaborated on why the Sarkisian hire would be good for USC’s program:
Based on the thoughts of these two high schoolers, USC made a good hire. Now the question is will Sark be able to coach as well as he recruits.
