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USC director of player development Gavin Morris predicted the Trojans’ latest recruiting staff power play earlier this month.
As reactions were coming for USC’s hiring of Bryan Carrington — formerly the well respected director of recruiting at Texas, hired by the Trojans in an offensive analyst role — Morris responded to a tweet from LSU recruiting staffer Jeff Martin.
“We coming for you next,” Morris tweeted at Martin.
And sure enough, they did. USC is hiring Martin as its director of scouting and player relations, TrojanSports.com confirmed, as was earlier reported by The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman with Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel and USCScoop.com also reporting the addition.
At LSU, his alma mater, Martin was the assistant director of on-campus recruiting operations.
It’s fitting that Morris signaled USC’s pursuit of Martin, as the two have a reputation as being impactful recruiters in similar roles, building relationships with prospects and serving as a frequent point of contact between the program and recruits.
This completes USC’s latest upgrades to its recruiting staff, which started with hiring Marshall Cherrington from Cal as the new director of recruiting strategy, poaching Carrington from Texas (although he’ll be assisting the coaching staff in an analyst role, he will still be very involved in recruiting) and now landing Martin from LSU. In the meanwhile, the Trojans lost Trey Johnson — who had the title of director of scouting and recruiting strategy — to his alma mater Tennessee.
The recruiting department, led by director of player personnel Spencer Harris, has been given a substantial boost over the last 14 months since USC’s new athletics administration took over. That includes the addition of creative/video staffers and the launch of BLVD Studios, leading to a significantly enhanced social media presence from the program.
Meanwhile, the reactions poured in for the Martin hiring Friday.
Desert Pines HS (Las Vegas, Nev.) assistant coach David Hill:
USC 5-star DE Korey Foreman, who was heavily recruited by LSU, also chimed in on his Instagram story, saying “Welcome home. Need ’em!”
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