They are all highly coveted, Southern California-based recruits. They constantly link up at 7-on-7 passing league tournaments and training camps. So it should be no surprise that they have grown so close that ESPN Junior 300 wide receiver Jaylinn Hawkins has dubbed them “The Bros.”
The clique includes ESPN Junior 300 prospects Iman Marshall, Stanley Norman and Desean Holmes, among others. Hawkins considers himself a member, though he acknowledges he’s still far from matching the recruiting notoriety the others have built heading into the spring.
“The Bros” were among the Elite Junior Day visitors USC hosted the weekend before national signing day, and Hawkins said he and the others were happy to share the experience.
“It was real cool walking around campus and learning about the school with ‘The Bros,’” Hawkins said. “I’m good friends with all the guys that were there. We don’t really talk about going to the same school. We talk about competing and going hard against each other to get better. We’re all good athletes, and good athletes will only get better by going against good athletes.”
The Trojans have not offered Hawkins, who shined at Buena Park (Calif.) last year, but he performed well at the Nike Football Training Camp last weekend. He holds scholarship offers from California, Fresno State, Northwestern, Oregon State, San Diego State, San Jose State, Utah and Washington State.
Hawkins said he has garnered strong interest from UCLA and USC, which he intends to unofficially visit again in the coming months. Stanford has also gotten into the picture.
“Coach Keith Heyward at USC is a real good coach and he likes me at defensive back,” Hawkins said. “Coach Tee Martin likes me at receiver. So with USC, it’s both ways and either side of the ball. I’ve got to see if they will offer me or not. They have been recruiting me strongly, hitting me up on the daily and letting me know about the practice schedule and visit schedules. I get a lot of mail, so they’re recruiting me pretty hard. Hopefully I can impress during the spring evaluation or I might slide through their camp and work out this summer.”
Club teammates have productive day on campus
Defensive backs Mike Bell and Malik Psalms, who star for Inland Empire-based Ground Zero in the passing league circuit, took a productive step in the recruiting process last weekend when they unofficially visited USC.
Bell said the Trojans like him in a rover role in the defense, while Psalms said he is being recruited at cornerback.
“It was a great experience to talk to Coach Heyward,” Psalms said. “We talked about how I would fit in their system and what he likes about me. I like the tradition. Even though everyone knows what they will do on the field, they still go out and do their thing.”
Bell didn’t follow college football growing up, but he now classifies himself as a Trojans fan.
“They want me to come back for spring ball and watch practice,” Bell said. “I play safety in high school, but they were also talking about outside linebacker. There is a lot of tradition there. They get guys out and into the league.”
Psalms has offers from San Diego State and San Jose State, plus interest from Cal, Colorado and UCLA. Bell has heard from the Aztecs and Golden Bears.
Class of 2016 linebacker Lokeni Toailoa, another member of Ground Zero, was also blown away by the visit. He might be nearly two years away from signing with the college of his choice, but he’s attacking the process head on.
“USC is my dream school,” said Toailoa, who has not yet landed an offer from the Trojans. “Hanging with Coach Peter Sirmon one on one and watching film, I thought we got along great. We went into certain drills and how they call out their defense. He told me he loves the way I tackle and that I’m a great finisher.”
Toailoa, like other local recruits, intends to compete at the Rising Stars Camp in late June. After getting a taste of what it would like to take the Coliseum field in the cardinal and gold, his motivation level might never be higher.
“I started getting visions when we were in the jerseys on the field,” Toailoa said. “It seemed like a dream come true.
“For me, it’s going to come down to the vibe I get from being on campus and whether I can see myself there for four years. The football teams I’m not really worried about because I’ll go to a great program regardless. It’s going to come down to where I envision myself and the vibe I get at the school.”