"It was good getting my first feel for the city": Five-star USC commit recaps standout visit to Steve Sarkisian's Texas

Five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin has been committed to USC since July 27, but that hasn't stopped other programs from actively recruiting him. He has been taking visits as well, including a trip to Austin last weekend for Texas’ spring game, arriving Friday afternoon.

“It was good getting my first feel for the city, feel for the coaches, and seeing them practice," Griffin told On3 on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound athlete posted 43 tackles, six sacks and a forced fumble in eight games during the 2024 season. He is often compared to Jihaad Campbell, the former Alabama linebacker projected to go in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft.

While most recruiting outlets rate Griffin as a four-star, 247Sports lists him as a five-star prospect, ranking him as the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 class and the top overall player in Georgia. Landing Griffin would be a major addition for Texas’ 2026 recruiting class, which has no linebacker commits and sits at No. 13 nationally with four total pledges.

Can Texas flip Xavier Griffin from USC?

Before heading to Texas last week, Xavier Griffin made unofficial visits to both Tennessee and Florida State in March. After his trip to the Longhorns and some positive comments, there was speculation about a possible commitment switch. However, that currently doesn’t seem likely.

Even while visiting Austin, Griffin reportedly showed clear allegiance to USC by posing for a photo with a Texas coach while flashing the USC 'V' sign and refusing to do the 'Horns Up' gesture, according to On3’s Scott Schrader.

In an interview with 247Sports, Griffin reaffirmed his commitment to USC, saying:

"I'm fully locked in. We're just trying to build this '26 class. We've got the No. 1 class right now. We're trying to keep it there. It's a lot of guys down here they try to get me to get in touch with to get them to go to USC. I've been up there a good bit now, getting to meet other commits."

USC has been dominating the 2026 recruiting cycle and ranks No. 2 nationally. Many programs are still trying to lock in a few players, but USC’s class already includes 22 commits.

"Everybody all has the same goal that we see USC being," Griffin said. "That's been big. It's just the vision they see for us. All the commits we've been getting and the past class they had. They're just trying to build and have guys come in to play."

Griffin remains the lone linebacker in USC’s 2026 class, and with other programs still attempting to flip him, Lincoln Riley’s staff will need to stay proactive in keeping him on board.