Coast to coast: Stubbs ready to head west
The plan for Hylton (Drake) Stubbs: from the First Coast to the Pacific Coast.
The junior defensive back made Mandarin’s latest big splash in the recruiting world Sunday night, announcing his commitment to Southern California college football for the 2025 class. He selected the Trojans over programs including Florida, Florida State, Miami, Georgia and Tennessee.
On3 Sports was the first to report the commitment.
An Under Armour All-American listed as a four-star prospect by the major national recruiting analysts, the 6-1, 180-pound Stubbs is rated as a top-10 safety nationwide.
In 2023, his first season since transferring to Mandarin from Oakleaf, he helped the Mustangs to the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 4M final with a performance that combined an opportunistic eye for the takeaway with pure, crunching hits in run support.
He finished the year with 97 tackles (8 1/2 for loss), with 2 1/2 sacks, six interceptions, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. His signature performance came in December’s Class 4M state semifinal, when he recorded three takeaways and one defensive touchdown in a particularly dominant 51-21 victory over Coconut Creek Monarch.
Stubbs had recently taken unofficial visits to schools including Florida and Texas A&M. During his visit to USC a week ago, he posted a photo alongside former Trojan, four-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott.
His commitment caps a major recruiting weekend for the Trojans and head coach Lincoln Riley, who also picked up two elite defensive recruits: four-star defensive lineman Isaiah Gibson from Warner Robins (Ga.) and five-star defensive tackle Justus Terry from Manchester (Ga.), a flip from Georgia.
USC is joining the Big 10 for next season after leaving the Pac-12.
Stubbs is just one of several top Mandarin prospects on the radar for next year’s class. Quarterback Tramell Jones committed to Florida State last year, and receiver Jaime Ffrench is among Florida’s top uncommitted junior recruits after de-committing from Alabama upon the retirement of Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.