Such is the nature of collegiate sports that the carousel of players hopping on and off is perpetual. A class of freshmen is taking over from departing graduates. Nearsightedness is a cardinal sin in this sport, and focus has swiftly pivoted over to the class of ‘26. Coaches are hitting the road for off-campus visits. Parallely, recruits are reciprocating the efforts with on-campus ones. A couple of rival programs out west are warring, albeit indirectly. The Cascade Clash between Oregon and Washington has transpired from the gridiron over to the recruitment front. Offensive lineman Esun Tafa is at the epicenter of this proverbial battle. In which a late entrant is leapfrogging the competition.
Everyone in the football sphere is in unison about one thing. The key takeaway from the Super Bowl was that one cliche still holds and will forever. Football is won and lost in the trenches. Even the best QB in the world laid an egg without good protection. Control the line of scrimmage, and you control the game. It’s not as if programs needed this reminder. But it sure has made offensive tackles an even hotter commodity. Consensus 4-star Esun Tafa is a top 20 interior O-lineman in his class. There’s a reason he’s destined for the top. The blood coursing through this Draper, Utah native is Samoan. You already know the lineage they carry at the tackle position. At 6’4, 305-lbs, Tafa’s tangibles are through the chart. As such, the big fish are circling.
Dan Lanning’s Oregon project is a bit of a sure thing right now. Especially compared to their neighboring Washington under Jedd Fisch. The Ducks have just won the B1G and are stacked to the brim with talent. Oregon has churned out top-5 ranked classes for a few years now under Lanning, and 2026 is trending towards just that. The Phil Knight and Nike connection boosting the Ducks’ NIL arsenal sure helps make Eugene attractive. They’ve offered Esun Tafa, as have Washington. Interestingly, Tafa was earlier committed to Fisch’s Huskies. However, he rescinded his commitment. They’re still in with a shout though, as Tafa has still scheduled an official visit to Washington. Despite getting cold feet. But Fisch has the hottest recruiter in the country right now to contend with.
The beaches of southern California were transpiring into quicksand for USC Trojans’ head coach, Lincoln Riley. As hard as he tried to escape the hole he was sinking into, he seemed to get hauled further in. Then came a helping hand. A messiah to lift not only Riley but the mood around the entire Trojans program. A man who came from an arch-nemesis but is no “Trojan” Horse. USC’s new GM, Chad Bowden, has turned the program’s recruiting on its head since coming over from Notre Dame. Out of seemingly nowhere, the Trojans are now frontrunners in the race for Esun Tafa. Here’s why that’s not hyperbolic.
Big Thank you to @CoachZachHanson @AaronAmaama @uscfb for having me & my family yesterday on a really great visit. Grateful for the opportunity to meet them all especially Coach @LincolnRiley & listen to his advice, insight & vision for the future. #FightOn #4Popz @NilxGroup pic.twitter.com/kDXZimMIo7
— Esun Tafa (@esuntafa_) March 4, 2025
Over his “LOST IN THA SAUCE” podcast, insider USC J discussed Esun Tafa trending towards the west rather than northwest. This came of the back of Tafa visiting the USC campus earlier this week. USC J spoke about Tafa decommitting from Washington, which “opened the door up for other teams to be involved, such as Oregon.” He then proceeded to say, “USC was really never on his radar. However, the full-court press has been applied all across the board [by] the different staff. the different things that have been put in place.”
This, of course, refers to Chad Bowden. Who’s propelled them into having the No.1 ranked class for 2026 and only getting stronger. USC is one of 3 teams, alongside UW and in-state Utah, to have received an official visit. There’s more to why they’re frontrunners.
Tafa shall visit Washington on June 6th, USC on June 13th, and Utah on June 20th. No OV for Dan Lanning. Lincoln Riley’s Trojans lead On3’s RPM for Esun Tafa with a 35.6% chance to land him. Talk about stealth. There’s no smoke without fire, and USC J relayed one interesting nugget that tells him Tafa will indeed land with the Trojans.
Cryptic hints of Lincoln Riley landing Esun Tafa ahead of Dan Lanning and Jedd Fisch
GM Chad Bowden has been getting busy, and at the direct expense of his former program too. 4-star D-lineman Simote Katoanga was trending towards the Irish for a minute. The signs pointed to Marcus Freeman getting his man, and Bowden was at the crux of the process. The script has now flipped on its head, with Katoanga now a USC commit. Even when this went down, USC J said, “This just kind of came out of the blue just a couple days prior to [it] happening. So for this to even turn in USC’s favor, you got to know that this is the Chad Bowden effect.” Well, why is Katoanga important to affairs pertaining Esun Tafa? Because of some cryptic social media activity.
Esun Tafa quoted an X post linking him to USC with a subtle “” emoji. Simote Katoanga then himself quoted Tafa’s post with a “” This isn’t a certainty of something brewing, but it’s not nothing for a couple of Gen-Z kids either. Even USC J acknowledges this exchange between their latest commit and a recent visitor being meaningful. “Players always know everything first. They always communicate with one another. They go to bat for one another…When [Katoanga] put it up, man. My eyes just lit up,” he remarked.
A school on the Pacific coast, located in a city that’s probably the biggest sports market in the country. Meshed with an offensive whiz in Lincoln Riley and a GM like Chad Bowden. Attracting high-caliber recruits should theoretically be easy, and it’s finally clicking. The Trojans are making noise, and it’s causing disturbance in Oregon and Washington. But keep in mind that Dan Lanning can never be counted out with his prowess and resources.
Plus, Jedd Fisch receiving an OV despite the initial de-commitment is a huge positive. He’s got plans in place to bring UW closer to their standing under Kalen DeBoer. The Utah Utes’ proximity to home is also a factor. Lincoln Riley can’t rest on his laurels with this one. As for Esun Tafa, a huge fortnight awaits him in June.
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