Georgia gained a commitment on Wednesday when ESPN 300 Class of 2022 defensive end Mykel Williams flipped from USC to the Dawgs.
Williams is the No. 50-ranked recruit in the country and had been committed to USC since June. The Trojans have since fired coach Clay Helton and have not named a new, permanent head coach.
While remaining committed to USC, Williams had taken visits to Florida, Auburn and Georgia recently, and ultimately decided it was in his best interest to flip to Georgia.
"[Georgia is] home, it's the crib, that's really what it was," Williams said. "It wasn't anything that USC did; I actually love USC and I still have love for USC. I felt like Georgia was the best place for me and the defense has been lights-out dominant, and I want to play for a dominant defense in a dominant scheme."
— Mykel Williams (@MykelW_50) October 20, 2021
He's a 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive end from Hardaway High School in Columbus, Georgia, and is the No. 3 prospect in the state of Georgia.
While he said it wasn't anything that USC did, specifically, Williams does acknowledge the fact that the uncertainty within the program did play a role in his decision.
"That affected me, with them not knowing who the head coach will be," Williams said. "I really presumed it was going to be coach Donte Williams. Me having a great relationship and great conversation with Coach Williams, I wasn't really too shaken by that that point."
With Williams in the class, Georgia now has seven commitments ranked inside the top 100 of the player rankings. The class is led by five-star athlete Malaki Starks, Branson Robinson, the No. 2 running back in the class, linebacker Jalon Walker, Williams, defensive tackle Tyre West, linebacker C.J. Washington and quarterback Gunner Stockton, all of whom are ranked in the top 10 of their respective positions.
For USC, this is the biggest decommitment since Helton was fired. But he is not the only Trojan commitment to show interest in other schools, as ESPN 300 quarterback Devin Brown is garnering interest from other programs and five-star corner Domani Jackson has already taken a visit to Michigan.
The Trojans now have five ESPN 300 commitments in the class and nine total commitments. Without a permanent head coach, there is little the staff can do to quell the interest from other coaches and try to keep this class together.