Winning the weekend: Breaking down the biggest commitments

John Garcia Jr./Rivals.com

It was looking like a rather subdued weekend of commitments across the country until USC got rolling on Sunday. The Trojans had a big weekend of visits, especially from the Southeast, and by the end of Sunday they added five massive commitments.

Here is a look at the 10 biggest pledges of the weekend.

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BRETT CLATTERBAUGH – VIRGINIA TECH

MORE: Four-star LB Brett Clatterbaugh commits to Virginia Tech

It was always a dream for the four-star linebacker from Culpeper (Va.) Eastern View to stay home and play in front of friends and family and that happened when he picked Virginia Tech. The Hokies are getting a very talented playmaker and leader on the defensive side of the ball and a big-time prospect as well since the four-star had Notre Dame, Georgia, Clemson, Penn State and others involved.

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GUS CORDOVA – USC

MORE: Texas DL Gus Cordova talks decision to commit to USC

The Austin (Texas) Lake Travis high three-star defensive end has been involved in a well-documented off-the-field incident in recent months that might have been a prank and not a deliberate act but either way,

I’ve been told no teams had stopped recruiting him. Cordova is a phenomenal talent coming off the edge – big, tough, fierce and really aggressive – and the Trojans need those types of players on defense. A lot of in-state programs have been involved but USC won out Sunday.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH USC FANS AT TROJANSPORTS.COM

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JARED CURTIS – GEORGIA

MORE: Georgia lands big commitment from four-star 2026 QB Jared Curtis

The first big-time quarterback in the 2026 class to come off the board could end up being the best one as well. There are two five-stars ahead of the Nashville (Tenn.) Nashville Christian School standout who has all the tools to be special at Georgia and beyond and he chose the Bulldogs over many other top programs like Ohio State, LSU, Texas and others.

Curtis doesn’t play big-time competition but he’s shown a few times on the 7-on-7 circuit so far that he should be mentioned among the best in 2026.

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ISAIAH GIBSON – USC

Georgia. Georgia. Georgia. That had been the rumor when it came to the four-star defensive end from Warner Robins, Ga., as Clemson, Alabama and many others across the Southeast tried to stay involved in his recruitment but it seemed inevitable that the Bulldogs would land him.

Until this weekend when Gibson got to meet new USC defensive line coach Eric Henderson, Aaron Donald was at the USC event and Gibson left Los Angeles committed to the Trojans.

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DOMINICK KELLY – USC

MORE: Elite 2026 DB Dominick Kelly leaves L.A. as a USC football commit

A recent offer from Notre Dame was “a dream come true.” Georgia, Oklahoma and others also got involved recently with the 2026 four-star safety from Tampa (Fla.) Robinson. But after spending the weekend in Los Angeles and especially around the new USC defensive coaching staff, Kelly committed to the Trojans.

Kelly is a long, rangy safety who can patrol the secondary and make plays and USC needs that kind of help on defense.

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LUKE METZ – ALABAMA

MORE: Alabama stays hot, adds another four-star LB recruit in Luke Metz

After Metz left a recent visit to Alabama and got to meet with the new coaching staff, the four-star linebacker from Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek was saying privately that it was going to be super tough to beat the Crimson Tide.

Metz loved everything about his trip to Tuscaloosa and the vision moving forward plus the history behind the Alabama program. He joins a loaded linebacker group with the Crimson Tide as four-stars Darrell Johnson and Abduall Sanders and three-star Myles Johnson are also in the class.

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MARSHALL PRITCHETT – NORTH CAROLINA

MORE: North Carolina lands three-star tight end Marshall Pritchett

On Friday night, hours before Pritchett was to make his commitment, Michigan, Wisconsin and South Carolina were still trying to convince him to make his pledge at those places.

But North Carolina was involved since the earliest stages in his recruitment, he loves coach Mack Brown and position coach Freddie Kitchens and while others tried – and Michigan was most involved – the Tar Heels won out.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH UNC FANS AT TARHEELILLUSTRATED.COM

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HYLTON STUBBS – USC

There was a significant amount of chatter around Florida when it came to Stubbs and that made sense. The four-star safety from Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin, who has competed from coast-to-coast this offseason and has proven to be one of the best defensive backs in the class, had talked highly of the Gators for a long time.

Recent visits to USC, Texas A&M and Auburn all went well and Alabama not so much but the trip to Los Angeles must have been way better than originally let on as Stubbs joined the parade of commits on Sunday to the Trojans.

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JUSTUS TERRY – USC

MORE: Five-star Justus Terry flips from Georgia to USC

One of the biggest shocks so far in the 2025 recruiting class came early Sunday morning when the five-star defensive end flipped his commitment from Georgia to USC after a great weekend visit. Terry is from small-town Manchester, Ga., he had been committed to the Bulldogs for more than a year and while Alabama and Florida State made a serious push, USC blew Terry away (new DL coach Eric Henderson helped and having Aaron Donald on campus didn’t hurt).

The chatter Sunday was if Terry will be Mykel Williams 2.0 – an early USC pledge didn’t stick as Georgia flipped him back – but it’s huge that the Trojans got Terry in the fold this weekend.

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BYRON WASHINGTON – SYRACUSE

MORE: Byron Washington commits to Syracuse

Syracuse landed one of the biggest commitments of the weekend – literally. The DeSoto, Texas three-star offensive lineman is not a finished product but there’s a lot to work with there since Washington is 6-foot-8 and 380 pounds and moves surprisingly well for his size.

There were some in-state programs making a run at Washington but kudos to coach Fran Brown and his staff for going into the Dallas area to convince the three-star OL to go away for college.

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