5-star LB Xavier Griffin locks in four official visits after decommitting from USC Trojans

Five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin had committed to the Trojans after his second visit on July 31, 2024, and visited the campus five more times since. reopened his recruitment on Wednesday.

Following his decommitment, Giffin announced his future visits to Ohio State, Alabama, Texas and Florida State. On3's Hayes Fawcett reported the same on his X handle.

"News: Five-star LB Xavier Griffin has locked in four official visits. His schedule is as follows: Ohio State (May 30), Alabama (June 6), Texas (June 13), Florida State (June 15). The No. 2 LB in the '26 Class decomitted from USC moments ago," read the caption.

Since the appointment of Chad Bowden as the USC general football manager in the program, the Trojans have sped up the athletes' recruitment process. Another addition to their policy is that, after a recruit commits, he is supposed to shut down his recruitment, cancelling all official or unofficial visits to different programs.

But Griffin wanted to explore different programs, and thus, parted with the Trojans on a mutual understanding.

As of now, USC's 2026 recruiting class has 27 committed players. The list includes: Taylor Johnson, Luc Weaver, Elbert Hill, Roderick Tezeno, Kannon Smith and Vlad Dyakonov.

Xavier Griffin is a product of Gainesville (Georgia) High School and is ranked No. 8 in the latest 247Sports Class of 2026 rankings. He is the No. 2-ranked linebacker in the Class of 2026 and holds the No. 3 rank in Georgia according to On3.

"It's a very young team, and I think they'll be good:" Xavier Griffin on Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns

Elite recruit Xavier Griffin took an unofficial visit to Texas in April and shared his opinion of Steve Sarkisian's program.

“It was good getting my first feel for the city, feel for the coaches, and seeing them practice,” Griffin told Inside Texas. “Practice was pretty good, they played tough and got after it. It’s a very young team, and I think they’ll be good. No. 17 (Xavier Filsaime) played well, Colin Simmons too.”

His decommitment from USC certainly grabbed the attention of Texas Edge coach LaAllan Clark, who posted a tweet on his X handle, hinting at Steve Sarkisian's interest in the 6'3 linebacker. If he chooses Texas, he will be the Longhorns' eighth commit, joining Dia Bell and Jermaine Bishop.

Griffin mentioned that he wants to make his new decision before his senior year.