Lamar Dawson, a Rivals four-star inside linebacker ranked third nationally at his position, has committed on this National Signing Day morning to play for the USC Trojans. One of the nation's top high school football recruits, Dawson is regarded as the top prospect in his home state of Kentucky, where he was a standout at Danville's Boyle County High School.
Our friends at Rivals were impressed with both Dawson's size and speed during his senior season:
He is a huge linebacker who can run and is not afraid of contact. Dawson also has excellent ball skills and could be a difference-maker by intercepting passes and scoring rather than just falling to the ground. His overall athleticism will allow him to play more than one of the linebacker positions at the next level.
Dawson had offers from ten Divsion I-A programs, and took official visits to USC, Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee, and Central Florida. His recruitment was supposedly coming down to the wire, but the notoriously closemouthed young man never did tip his hand, and misinformation on his destination flew fast and furious right up to the eleventh hour and then some.