USC Trojans Take Shot at Dan Lanning With 5-Star Commitment Announcement

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4 days ago

USC Trojans Take Shot at Dan Lanning With 5-Star Commitment Announcement originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The USC Trojans landed a major commitment on the recruiting trail Friday afternoon, picking 5-star tight end Mark Bowman, who is rated as the No. 1 TE and No. 16 player in the 2026 class.
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While the addition is huge for Lincoln Riley and his staff to improve their roster, it was also an opportunity to fire a shot up north and troll Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks, who were also in on Bowman's recruitment.
In a video posted to X right after the announcement from USC football's official account, Trojans alum Will Ferrell is shown jumping into the pool in a clip from "Anchorman."
Shots fired right at Lanning.
For those who remember, it was earlier this spring that Lanning celebrated a commitment from 5-star EDGE Richard Wessley by ripping his shirt off and jumping into a pool. That commitment hasn't gone very smoothly for the Oregon Ducks, though, with Wessley recently coming out and having his name removed from the Ducks' commits list as he continues to weigh his options.
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This is a fun ribbing from USC to Oregon, and likely one that won't be received well by the Ducks as they continue to try and build momentum on the recruiting trail.
Of course, we've seen over the years how Lanning uses past occurrences in his pregame speeches and motivational tactics against teams, so it will be interesting to see this fall if any other cannonball-related content comes out, especially with USC traveling up to Eugene to face the Ducks on November 22.
Related: Nittany Lions Make Major Announcement About Oregon Ducks vs. Penn State Game
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.