Rancho Cucamonga cornerback RJ Sermons to join USC a year early

One of the top prospects in USC’s top-ranked 2026 recruiting class has decided not to wait another year to join the Trojans.

Rancho Cucamonga cornerback RJ Sermons, a four-star recruit, plans to reclassify to the 2025 class, leaving high school a year early to enroll this summer at USC.

Sermons, whose father, Rodney, played at USC, should give the Trojans another talented option in a defensive backfield that lost five starters from a season ago. How swiftly he’ll be able to claim a role in that rebuilt secondary remains to be seen.

USC already added two starting-caliber corners through the transfer portal in DJ Harvey and Chasen Johnson, while returners DeCarlos Nicholson, Marcelles Williams, Braylon Conley and Prophet Brown have experience in the Trojans’ scheme. Three other freshmen — Alex Graham, Trestin Castro and James Johnson — also joined the position group in the spring.

Sermons should at least step in with a legitimate claim as the fastest member of USC’s secondary. He currently owns the state’s top times in the 100- and 200-meter dashes at 10.30 and 20.88 seconds.

He won’t be the only member of the Trojans’ 2025 class that was supposed to be a senior in high school next season. Five-star defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart reclassified from the 2026 to the 2025 class last season after playing in just 12 high school games. He’s expected to have a role on USC’s defense this fall.