LOS ANGELES ? Make no mistake: With only 15 scholarship slots available, USC couldn't afford to make any mistakes on national signing day.
So Lane Kiffin and his staff were extremely selective, seeking quality on and off the field in the 12 players who ultimately signed Wednesday.
For the most part, Kiffin and crew succeeded. Rivals deemed USC's class the seventh best in the nation, but in terms of average star rating, the Trojans were first (4.07). Scout had USC 20th and fourth (3.80), respectively.
"At the end of the day, we wanted to make sure we looked at quality players who could come in for specific needs," Kiffin said. "With that, we didn't reach.
"It's going to be very critical for these players to stay in our program and succeed in our program. We need guys who can really stick."
That's because the scholarship restrictions aren't going away. Because of NCAA sanctions, USC is limited to 15 scholarship offers and 75 total scholarship players each of the next three years. Both are 10 fewer than the maximum available to other schools.
By signing only 12 players Wednesday, USC will have three spots available for midyear enrollees in December or January. Those count against the 2012 scholarship total. USC then could sign 15 more players in 2013.
The 12 arrivals include three offensive linemen: Zach Banner (Lakes of Lakewood, Wash.), Jordan Simmons (Crespi of Encino) and Max Tuerk (Santa Margarita High). Kiffin was hoping to add a fourth, but USC went 0 for 3 with the tackles it was pursuing: Kyle Dodson, who signed with Ohio State; Kyle Murphy (San Clemente), who signed with Stanford; and Andrus Peat, who also signed with Stanford.
Kiffin used a baseball analogy to describe those hits and misses.
"Our starting pitcher pitched six good innings today," Kiffin said. "Then our bullpen got rocked. It didn't end very well."
It started out spectacularly, with two uncommitted Florida standouts announcing they'd sign with USC before 10 a.m. Pacific time. Nelson Agholor of Tampa will compete for the No. 3 receiver job. Leonard Williams of Daytona Beach will vie for a spot in the defensive-line rotation.
Besides Tuerk, USC added one other Orange County product in Jahleel Pinner.
Pinner played tailback and fullback at Mission Viejo, and he could be tapped for duty at the former because USC is thin at that position.
USC lost a tailback it expected to have when Amir Carlisle transferred to Notre Dame, a development Kiffin termed "surprising and disappointing."
NOTES
Kiffin said quarterback Jesse Scroggins needs to have a good semester to be academically eligible next season. "He's fallen behind," Kiffin said. "He's in a hole. He has a lot of work to do." ... Kiffin has n
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