Sarkisian lands stellar recruiting class for USC

Published Feb. 5, 2014 9:29 p.m. ET

foxsports

LOS ANGELES (AP) Although Steve Sarkisian made quite a splash on his first national signing day at Southern California, the new coach directed the credit to two assistants who stuck with the school after last season's turmoil.

USC landed a top-10 class headlined by three final-day commitments from Los Angeles-area prospects Wednesday. Offensive lineman Damien Mama and two-way athletes Adoree Jackson and John ''Juju'' Smith chose the Trojans in succession during the day, setting off wild cheers in the coaches' office as USC's good fortune grew.

Sarkisian, who returned to USC just over two months ago, praised assistant coaches Tee Martin and Clay Helton for following through on the recruitment effort that began under standout recruiters Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron.