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Five players committed to USC will play in the Opening

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Five players who have committed to USC will participate in the Opening this week at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore.

The Opening is an invite-only camp that includes combine testing, a seven-on-seven tournament and lineman challenge. The 166 high school players invited are selected following a series of Nike regional camps.

Linebacker Daelin Hayes from Ann Arbor, Mich., was invited following his performance at the Chicago regional.

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Hayes, 6 feet 3 and 247 pounds, was in Los Angeles last month to participate at USC’s Rising Stars camp. Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA are among the schools that continue to recruit him.

North Torrance linebacker Mique Juarez, 6 feet 2 and 218 pounds, was invited after the Southern California regional in March.

USC offered Juarez a scholarship after a Rising Stars camp last summer, and he committed in January. However, his recruitment could continue until signing day in February.

Juarez made an unofficial visit to USC’s campus in June to watch Rising Stars and made an unofficial visit to UCLA the following day to participate in the Bruins’ Elite Camp.

Santa Ana Mater Dei’s Frank Martin participated in the Southern California regional, but he was not invited to the Opening until after his performance at the Northern California regional in May, where he was named the MVP of the offensive line.

Martin, 6 feet 5 and 300 pounds, also played in Rising Stars last month.

Josh Imatorbhebhe, from Suwanee, Ga., dominated combine drills at the Atlanta regional in March -- he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds -- but the 6-foot-2, 205-pound receiver was not immediately invited.

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Imatorbhebhe was in Los Angeles last month to play at Rising Stars. His brother, Daniel, was also on the trip and said he would transfer to USC after deciding to leave Florida following spring practice.

Lancaster Paraclete running back Melquise Stovall received an invite in June, though he was named the running back MVP of the Los Angeles regional three months earlier.

The 5-foot-7, 175-pound Stovall also played defensive back at Rising Stars.

Questions or comments about USC? Email me at LNThiry@gmail.com or tweet @LindseyThiry and I will respond to select messages in a weekly USC Now mailbag.

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