USC adds local safety Peter Sciarrino to 2026 recruiting class
Sciarrino comes to USC from nearby Loyola High School, just a few miles up the road from the Coliseum. He will join the Trojans as a preferred walk-on.
'There is nowhere like USC," Sciarrino told On3. "The tradition, the energy, and the strength of the Trojan Family is unmatched. I've been locked in on this since I was a kid and now I get to make it real!"
Although walk-ons do not typically generate the most hype, there are plenty of examples of them becoming contributors and even stars for major college football programs. Two of the most famous such examples have ties to the Trojans: Former USC linebacker Clay Matthews III went from a walk-on to a first-round draft pick and NFL All-Pro, and head coach Lincoln Riley coached former walk-on quarterback Baker Mayfield to the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma. Playing for Riley at USC, Sciarrino will look to create his own walk-on-to-stardom story.
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CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Texas QB Arch Manning says his grandpa apologized for NFL plan prediction
There's so much speculation about Texas quarterback Arch Manning's future, in the media and even within his own family, that it can be hard for him to keep up. On Tuesday, Manning insisted he's not plotting out how long he'll stay at Texas or when he'll enter the NFL draft, despite his grandfather's recent prediction to Texas Monthly magazine that he'll be with the Longhorns through the 2026 season. 'I don't know where he got that from,' Arch Manning said in his first meeting with reporters since SEC media days in mid-July. 'He texted me to apologize about that. I'm really just taking it day by day right now.' Arch Manning has been careful while talking about his future as he leads the No. 1 Longhorns as the full-time starter after playing behind Quinn Ewers the past two seasons. Manning enters this season as the early favorite for the Heisman Trophy, has endorsement deals worth millions and comes from the most famous quarterbacking family in football. Grandfather Archie played in the NFL and uncles Peyton and Eli combined for four Super Bowl victories. Add that together and Arch Manning is shouldering the biggest spotlight of any player in the country. Texas opens the season August 30 at No. 3 Ohio State after losing to the Buckeyes in the national playoff semifinals last season. Manning is also very close to his grandfather, despite any confusion about whether he's destined for one or two seasons as the Texas starter before heading to the NFL. Manning noted Tuesday how Archie is always giving him advice on how to avoid taking big hits to prolong his career. 'Those hits add up,' Arch Manning said. 'My grandfather, he's hobbling around these days. He ends every call with 'get down or get out of bounds.''
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Texas QB Arch Manning facing high expectations and ills of elite talent and family name
If you think you're already tired of all things Arch Manning, imagine actually being Arch Manning. Just do normal, man. Play football, go to class, hang out on Fifth Street. The next thing you know, grandpa has the next two years of your life mapped out, and he's using the Texas Monthly magazine bullhorn so the planet knows it. It's bad enough that Arch has to deal with expectations of (in this order) an unbeaten season, an SEC championship, a Heisman Trophy, a national title, and the first pick in the NFL draft — or bust. PATH TO PLAYOFF: Sign up for our college football newsletter It's bad enough that one uncle is an NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, and another uncle is on his way to Canton. And that's all Arch has to live up to. It's worse that grandpa, of all people – Archie Manning, the first true college football megastar of decades gone by and a fantastic NFL star who played on some truly lousy New Orleans Saints teams – joined Team Expectation and Speculation in July to declare Arch will spend two more years at Texas before leaving for the NFL. Book it. Only there's one teeny-weeny problem: Arch is only worried about the here and now. 'I don't know where he got that from,' Manning said Monday, in his first meeting with the media since last month's SEC media days. 'He texted me to apologize about that.' Let me be the first to apologize to Arch for all of this nonsense. For the hype and the hyperbole, for Las Vegas and the Heisman odds, for failure is not an option, for putting the horse before winning a road game as an SEC starting quarterback. You know, that used to be a big deal. To be fair to Manning, he doesn't want this circus. He said in July that he doesn't deserve any of it. He can't control what a talk radio host in Miami says anymore than a television bobblehead in Los Angeles. He knows Finebaum is chumming the waters, and the SEC Network is looking for the next soundbite, and everyone – I mean, everyone – is just waiting for him to fail. Because that's what we've become in this twisted wash machine of gotta have it, gotta get it. Build 'em up, tear 'em down. He just probably never expected grandpa to join the party. No one needs the season to begin quicker than Manning, whose first test out of the gate next week is on the road against defending national champion Ohio State. And that may as well be a welcome respite from this offseason of buffoonery. Let's not forget that Arch purposely avoided any connection to the past when, as the nation's No.1 quarterback recruit, he chose a different college path. Avoid the spotlight, embrace the normal. Didn't go to Ole Miss (where Archie and uncle Eli Manning played) or Tennessee (Peyton Manning), and didn't choose Alabama or Georgia and their recent history of college football domination. Manning chose the one school where he'd blend in like any other student on an urban campus, and where he could lift a program back to championship glory. Texas hasn't won a national title since Mack Brown's team shocked Southern California in 2005. That's 20 long years for the hardcore Burnt Orange, two excruciatingly painful decades of underachieving ugly. Texas has changed everything – coaches, athletic directors, presidents, conferences – in those 20 years, and nothing has worked. Now it has a genuine difference-maker at quarterback for the first time since Colt McCoy got the Longhorns back to the national title game in 2009, but was knocked out of the game on the first drive. That eventual loss to Alabama still haunts Brown, who swears Texas had the better team and the perfect game plan to beat the Tide. MONEY GRAB: With Michigan sanctions, NCAA sells what's left of soul Now here we are in 2025, and the entire college football world hangs on all things Arch. We can't get enough of it. Some because of tantalizing thoughts of what could be with all of that talent, and others just waiting for him to throw two picks in a loss to Ohio State. Because I told you so is such an attractive look. Here's a novel idea: just let the kid play. Forget about his bloated NIL deals, or his famous last name or that he has started all of two games in two seasons at Texas. If he goes out and beats Ohio State, don't start screaming about multiple Heismans or the first pick in the NFL draft. Stay in the moment and enjoy the ride. Even if Texas gets on a roll, and there's no one stopping the train. Even if Arch looks like all the best parts of Archie, Peyton and Eli. Even if Nick Saban admits at some point this season – during one of ESPN's many GameDay shows featuring Texas – that he'd have stayed at Alabama if he could've signed Arch. Grandpa has already done enough damage. Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Clemson, Penn State stars headline USA TODAY Sports preseason All-America Team
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WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State WR Ryan Williams, Alabama TE Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt Smith (1,315 yards, 15 touchdowns) is simply a generational talent. Williams tailed off down the stretch last season (48 catches for 865 yards) and will need to be more consistent to help Ty Simpson ease into the starting role. A former quarterback, Stowers (49 catches for 638 yards) has been a key part behind Vanderbilt's recent surge. OT Spencer Fano, Utah OT Kadyn Proctor, Alabama OG Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State OG Ar'maj Reed-Adams, Texas A&M C Jake Slaughter, Florida Fano was a day-one starter for Utah and is a virtual lock for All-America honors on either side of the line. Proctor (6-foot-7, 360 pounds) is poised to fulfill his five-star potential thanks to a unique combination of size, power and agility. Ioane is the face of a vastly improved Penn State front as he enters his second year as a starter. Reed-Adams is a former Kansas transfer who helped the Aggies rank second in the SEC in rushing yards per game in 2024. Slaughter is odds-on favorite to capture the Rimington Trophy as the nation's top center. Defense DE Dylan Stewart, South Carolina DT Peter Woods, Clemson DT Zane Durant, Penn State DE T.J. Parker, Clemson Stewart (10½ tackles for loss) is one of the elite young players in the SEC. Woods (8½ tackles for loss) and Parker (11 sacks) are two reasons why Clemson is the unquestioned favorite in the ACC. Durant (11 tackles for loss) is among the most disruptive interior linemen in the Power Four. LB Anthony Hill, Texas LB Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh LB Whit Weeks, LSU After monster 2024 (113 tackles and 16½ stops for loss), Hill will be asked to take on an even bigger role for the Longhorns' reworked defense. Louis (15½ tackles for loss, four interceptions) might be the most well-rounded linebacker in the Bowl Subdivision. LSU's defense made only slight gains last season and will need continued excellence from Weeks (125 stops) to contend for the top of the SEC. CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee CB Leonard Moore, Notre Dame S Caleb Downs, Ohio State S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon McCoy (team-best 13 passes defended) is a true stopper on the outside who was outstanding in his first year in the SEC. Moore (two interceptions) made quarterbacks look the other way as a freshman and may be the most promising young defender in the FBS. Downs (82 tackles) has an obscenely broad skill set and impacts games in a variety of ways, including the return game. A transfer from Purdue, Thieneman (104 tackles) will be one of the most important new additions in the Power Four. Specialists K Dominic Zvada, Michigan P Brett Thorson, Georgia Zvada made 21 of 22 field goals in 2024, including a remarkable seven of seven from 50 or more yards. 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OT Jordan Seaton, Colorado OG Kayden Green, Missouri OG Keyland Rutledge, Georgia Tech C Logan Jones, Iowa Defense DE Matayo Uiagalelei, Oregon DT Christen Miller, Georgia DT Tim Keenan, Alabama DE Colin Simmons, Texas LB CJ Allen, Georgia LB Aiden Fisher, Indiana LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State CB D'Angelo Ponds, Indiana CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson S Michael Taaffe, Texas S Koi Perich, Minnesota Specialists K Will Ferrin, Brigham Young P Palmer Williams, Baylor RET Barrion Brown, LSU AP Isaac Brown, Louisville
