USC Trojans

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. -- Nothing can wipe the smile off Michael Wyche's face nowadays.

Not the fact that his mother passed away this year after a battle with cancer. Not that his father is less than halfway through a 40-year prison term. Not that he’s about 2,700 miles from his 7-month-old daughter, Sky'mariah.

No, the East Los Angeles College defensive tackle flashed his smile whenever possible during a recent practice as the sun beamed down on Weingart Stadium. The native of Chesapeake, Va. giggled when coaches jokingly questioned his punctuality, grinned at the thought of post-workout Mexican food and laughed when he was asked what he thinks of the Los Angeles area.

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Damien Mama (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco) made himself invisible to college coaches for a short time this spring, which isn’t an easy thing for a 6-foot-4, 352-pound recruit -- as well as the No. 68 player overall and No. 3 offensive guard in the country -- to do.

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Five-star cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and four-star linebacker Dwight Williams are undoubtedly the headliners for an immensely talented Gardena (Calif.) Serra football team that won a state bowl game last year.

Class of 2015 prospects Rasheem Green and John Houston Jr., already national recruits, are next in line. After that, it appears 2016 receiver Brandon Burton will carry the torch for the Southern California powerhouse.

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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Silence fell over the hundreds of athletes as they took a knee near the north end zone at Laney College. With the six-hour Nike Football Training Camp behind them, they nervously looked around in anticipation.

“And the defensive back MVP goes to…”

Would it be the favorite, five-star cornerback and ESPN 150 member Adoree’ Jackson (Gardena, Calif./Serra)? Would it be Stanford safety commit Brandon Simmons (Arlington, Texas/Timberview)? Or would Northern California based four-star prospect Adarius Pickett (El Cerrito, Calif./El Cerrito) defend his turf?

It was neither.

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