USC Football: Personal Touch Makes USC Desirable Destination For Top Recruit
By Daniel Knott
LA Sports Hub sat down with top class of 2016 wide receiver and USC commit Trevon Sidney to talk summer camps, high school, and 2015 USC football.
This summer has been very eventful for Bishop Amat’s Trevon Sidney.
He went into this summer wanting to prove himself at wide receiver, and walked away as one of the top recruits for that position in the country.
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Playing mostly corner back thus far into his high school career, Sidney was anxious to show that he can deliver on both sides of the football.
At Rivals Five-Star Challenge Sidney made a name for himself among the nation’s top rated wide receivers, being named camp MVP. The Five-Star challenge, which features the top players across the nation, was the perfect venue to showcase his play-making ability.
“It felt great because I’ve been playing corner, so I’ve gone to these things this summer as a receiver. So getting this MVP boosted my confidence and showed people that I’m a receiver.”
The 5-foot-11, 165 pound senior has verbally committed to USC. When asked about his intent to become a Trojan a noticeable smile crept across his face.
"SC was just so hard on recruitment, UCLA was too, but I felt more and more at home the more I went to USC, than at UCLA.Trevon Sidney, USC Football Commit"
Sidney was a target of multiple Pac-12 schools including UCLA, Arizona, and Utah according to ESPN.com.
Sidney, though impressed with other schools, was drawn to the welcoming atmosphere that USC had to offer.
“He [Sark] is a great coach; that was one of the things that separated SC and UCLA, too. I talked to Sark a lot [and] just seeing that Sark would actually talk to me helped that decision a lot too.”
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Coach Sarkisian’s direct involvement in the recruiting process was a major factor in Sidney’s decision. This is news that should excite Trojan fans for the future.
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Going into his senior year at Bishop Amat — he will not be able to sign his letter of intent until February 2 of 2016.
As a junior at corner back, Sidney recorded 47 tackles (40 solo) and 4 interceptions. On the offensive end he tallied 981 yards of total offense, 540 of those yards at receiver.
Sidney credits a lot of his success to playing at an elite high school football program like Amat.
“It helped it a lot – some the same talent and competition, so when I went to those camps I was already used to it. ”
When it comes to playing high school football, Sidney has fond memories of taking the field with his fellow Lancers.
“At Bishop there’s nothing like Friday nights under the lights, there’s great people and that’s what I’m going to miss the most.”
Trevon Sidney isn’t the only person looking forward to dawning the cardinal and gold in the near future. Seeing his son commit to USC is a dream come true for Trevon’s father, Carlos Sidney, as well.
“Getting that free degree was the goal… I knew he had it in him since he was about three,” said Carlos.
The journey is nearly complete for the father who has never missed one of his son’s games.
Being able to see his son play right in his own backyard at the Coliseum makes this moment even sweeter.
USC willl have an advantage in recruiting if Head Coach Steve Sarkisian stays involved in the process.
With Sidney’s strong emphasis on family, it’s little surprise that he was attracted to the familial environment created by coach Sarkisian and the Trojans’ staff.
“You can tell they really wanted me and they really like me. I’d see coaches or people I haven’t really seen before and they’d come and welcome me. They’s be like, ‘Hey, what’s up, Trevon?”
“It felt like I was really wanted”.
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Trevon Sidney will be one of many high school seniors looking to make a decision about where they will sign their letter of intent for the following season.
With a strong recruit like Sidney already in the fold, USC is on pace to have another tremendous recruiting season.
This should give the Trojans plenty more reasons to “Fight On.”
Bishop Amat will face perennial powerhouse Mater Dei the opening game of the 2015 season.