The USC Trojans have already taken two major blows to their recruiting effort in the past few days when five-star defensive line prospects, Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson both decommitted. After an official visit to Auburn over the weekend, more bad news (rumors at the very least) has cropped up that the Auburn Tigers have emerged as a true threat to potentially flip the #2 QB in the nation Julian Lewis.

Should USC Trojans Brace for Another Big De-Commit?

College football analyst Rusty Mansell was recently asked about these rumors on the Crain and Company podcast and from everything he is hearing Auburn has moved the needle in their direction, to put it mildly.

“…in the end, if I had to bet now, I’m not 100% saying it’s gonna happen. But if you’re asking me who the biggest threat is, I think it’s Auburn. I think he’s had a couple of great visits there. I know he’s extremely close with his family. He’s already in Carrollton, which is not far from Auburn.”

“It was only a matter of time before Hugh Freeze got the wagon circled up, so to speak down at Auburn. That’s a big boy damn program. They’re gonna go in some battles. They’re gonna win some battles, but I do think right now as of 6/19. You wanna talk about a serious threat? I think Auburn is a serious threat to end up with Lewis in their class.”

Auburn is a mere 85 miles from Carrollton, GA.

Both Parties Have Said All the Right Things

This comes just days after it was reported that Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans (months ago) had turned top-of-class quarterback prospect, Bryce Underwood away to focus completely on retaining Lewis’s commitment.

Lewis also reiterated his commitment to sticking with the USC Trojans after his Auburn visit. On3’s recruiting prediction machine still gives Georgia the edge of ultimately landing the quarterback, with a 23.8 percent chance. USC is second with 19.2 percent and Auburn comes in third, with 12.8 percent.

There is still a ton of time before signing day in December. Julian Lewis is scheduled to visit Colorado this weekend, but as of this moment, despite all of the outside noise, Lewis has continued to reiterate that he is all in on USC and Lincoln Riley and is merely taking visits to enjoy the experience. Auburn is certainly on the radar now, but USC is still firmly in the driver’s seat.

But if the last 24 hours have shown USC fans anything…buckle up.