ESPN 300 quarterback Jake Garcia, the No. 18-ranked recruit overall and the No. 2-ranked pocket passer in the class, decommitted from USC on Thursday night.
🖤 pic.twitter.com/3kuUbp91LD
— Jake Garcia (@JakeGarcia14) December 4, 2020
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound prospect had been committed to the Trojans since September 2019, but he had been rumored for the past few months to be looking at other options. He is originally from California but moved to Georgia before the season started after California announced it was postponing its season to the spring due to COVID-19 restrictions.
He transferred to Valdosta High in Georgia, was later ruled ineligible and then transferred again to Grayson High in Georgia to finish his high school career.
Miami is a program that has been brought up recently in Garcia's recruitment, and the Hurricanes are still looking for a quarterback in this class. Before his commitment to USC, Garcia had Miami high on his list, so the Hurricanes will be an option for him, and there also will be a chance for any other schools interested in Garcia to jump in before the early signing period starts Dec. 16.
This is the second class in a row USC has lost a commitment from a high-profile quarterback recruit. Bryce Young, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2020 class, also flipped and eventually signed with Alabama.
The difference in this class, however, is that USC coach Clay Helton and his staff have another quarterback committed in Miller Moss, the No. 36 overall prospect and the No. 6-ranked pocket passer.
After not signing a quarterback in 2020, however, USC had planned to sign two quarterbacks in this class. The staff extended an offer to ESPN 300 quarterback Jaxson Dart, the No. 75-ranked recruit overall, from Utah, before Garcia's decommitment, and USC is in Dart's top group along with UCLA, BYU, Utah and a few other programs.
With Garcia's decommitment, USC now has eight ESPN 300 commitments in the class, which is ranked No. 9 overall.