If I were writing this article five years ago and USC recruits were involved, I would more than likely have been calling coach Raul Lara over at Poly.  But it’s a new day in the Moore League, and right now Lakewood is just one high school out of many where top-notch football seniors, who are already done playing high school football, are getting calls from reporters like it’s the week before playoffs.

When I called Lakewood football coach Thadd MacNeal yesterday, he sounded like he had answered the phone a few times already.

“Oh man, I’ve been talking to everyone from Channel 4 to the Wall Street Journal,” said MacNeal.

Everyone is calling to find out what quarterback Jesse Scroggins and defensive back Dion Bailey are going to do now that Pete Carroll is officially leaving USC for the NFL head coaching job that he’s obviously been waiting for. 

Both Scroggins and Bailey had many suitors after their junior campaigns when Lakewood reached the semi finals in 2008.  Bailey decided on USC pretty early in the process, but Scroggins (considered the #2 quarterback by ESPN) flirted with Florida and Tennessee before deciding on Troy.

“They are wavering right now,” said MacNeal.  “But I think right now is a good time to just hang on, see what happens, and then go from there… the next few weeks are going to get interesting.”

By “see what happens” MacNeal was referring to the fact that USC is going to have to act quickly, find a good hire, and get him back on the recruiting trail to try and pick up the pieces.  Recruits all over the country who wanted to come for the Carroll Trojans are rethinking their decision, and National Letter of Intent day is less than three weeks away.

When we know more, so will you.  Make sure you come back to LBPOSTsports.com in February for all of the NLI coverage for all of the Moore League schools, just like we did last year.