Sources: USC's No. 1 class for '26 loses LB Griffin

Four-star linebacker Xavier Griffin, the No. 29 overall recruit in the 2026 ESPN 300, has decommitted from USC, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Griffin, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound defender from Gainesville, Georgia, had been pledged to the Trojans since July 2024. ESPN's third-ranked defender in the current cycle had stood among the top prospects in coach Lincoln Riley's star-studded 2026 recruiting class.

Griffin's decision to pull his pledge from USC stemmed from a desire to schedule official visits elsewhere, sources told ESPN. That went against USC's policy against committed prospects taking official trips to other campuses. Upon his decommitment, Griffin is now set to embark on a slate of official visits over the next months with stops at Alabama, Florida State, Georgia and Texas.

His departure marks the first significant blow to a Trojans recruiting class that holds more ESPN 300 pledges -- 13 -- than any other program in the 2026 cycle. Five-star prospects Elbert Hill (No. 15 overall) and Keenyi Pepe (No. 17) became the latest elite prospects to announce commitments to USC earlier this month, following nine other ESPN 300 recruits who have joined the program's incoming class since Jan. 1.

ESPN national recruiting analyst Craig Haubert listed the Trojans, who hold 27 total commitments, at No. 1 in his most recent 2026 class rankings earlier this month.

A lean, physical linebacker, Griffin has established himself across two varsity seasons at Gainesville High School, logging 97 total tackles and 21 sacks over his sophomore and junior years. He took unofficial visits to Florida State, Tennessee and Texas, among others, earlier this spring before Wednesday's decommitment.