Four-star Moorpark (Calif.) offensive guard and longtime USC commit Jonah Monheim signed his National Letter of Intent with the Trojans on Wednesday morning during the Early Signing Period.
The four-star prospect committed to the Trojans right before the season started in August thanks to some strong connections to the program; Monheim’s mother is a USC alum and his former Moorpark teammate Drake London is a current star freshman wide receiver on the team. Monheim was the 2020 class’ highest-rated prospect going into Wednesday.
The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Monheim headlines USC’s large offensive line class in an attempt to bolster the depth chart ranks for next year. USC loses at least one starter in right tackle grad transfer Drew Richmond and possibly junior left tackle, Austin Jackson, to the NFL Draft.
Monheim projects as a guard at the next level and it will be tough to break into the lineup in 2020 with two starting guards returning in Alijah Vera-Tucker and Andrew Vorhees, who redshirted in 2019 with an injury.
But Monheim’s nastiness and physicality could see him carve out a role on special teams or grab a back up spot down the line. Although a three-star prospect, Monheim boasted some major, major Power 5 offers, including Oklahoma, Auburn, Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State and Oregon.
The Oklahoma Sooners were the favourite to land Monheim’s commitment in the summer before USC surged ahead for his commitment in the Crystal Ball projections. He took his official visit to USC during the spring.
The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Monheim is rated the No. 350 overall prospect and the No. 13 offensive guard in the 2020 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He is the No. 370 overall prospect and the No. 16 guard in the 247Sports rankings.
USC currently owns the 79th-ranked recruiting class in the 247Sports Composite — including the 12th ranked in the Pac-12. This is unlike anything we’ve ever seen from USC, who was always the cream of the crop in the conference.
 offensive guard and longtime USC commit Jonah Monheim signed his National Letter of Intent with the Trojans on Wednesday morning during the Early Signing Period.){kind=link}