Berkeley's Agholor selects USC

It was one of the more memorable days in the history of Berkeley Preparatory School.

Before the entire student body, the school's cheerleaders and mascot, along with a national television audience on ESPNU, Berkeley Prep mega-recruit Nelson Agholor announced Wednesday afternoon he would play football for the USC Trojans.

Agholor, a 6-foot-2, 180-pounder who was primarily recruited to USC by former Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, said it was a difficult decision to select the Trojans over the Florida Gators. His other finalists were Florida State, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

Agholor, primarily a running back at Berkeley, where he rushed for 1,983 yards and 28 touchdowns last season, said he will play receiver at USC.

"I have all the respect in the world for (Gators coach) Will Muschamp,'' Agholor said. "I hope they continue to buy into his plan at Florida. But at the end of the day, I think it was always my dream to be a Trojan.''

Berkeley Prep coach Dominick Ciao is very close to Monte Kiffin and his son, Lane, the USC head coach. But Ciao said several schools did an excellent job in the recruitment of Agholor, who said he didn't decide on USC until Tuesday night. At that time, he called coaches from each school to inform them of his decision.

"I can't wait to get out there and compete,'' Agholor said. "They have great receivers at USC. The depth chart is full. I just want to get in the mix and do my best. I see great things ahead.''

Additionally, Berkeley Prep linebacker Schyler Miles signed with Kansas, whose head coach, Charlie Weis, was the Florida offensive coordinator last season. Miles said he thought he would commit to Florida, but Weis persuaded him to visit Kansas.

"I didn't see it coming a month or so ago, but things happened quickly,'' said Miles, who added his friends believed he would sign with Florida or West Virginia. "Obviously, we all benefitted from the recruitment of Nelson. We all got seen by a lot of people. This is a day we'll all remember for the rest of our lives.''

"There is great value in the exposure our school received today,'' Berkeley Prep headmaster Joe Selvold said. "Everyone was excited. But I think the true value is what all of these kids will produce going forward. That will be the legacy.''

Other Berkeley football players to sign were Reggie Barnes (Air Force Academy), Tyler Davis (Jacksonville) and Christian Hardegree (Colgate). Berkeley boys soccer players Lee Newhaller (American University) and Mark Biddinger (Louisville) also agreed to scholarships.

Most of the attention went to Agholor, of course, but he stayed well past the school's official signing ceremony, posing for photographs with anyone and everyone.

"I guess it's back to normal now,'' Agholor said. "It has been quite a ride.''

Agholor was the nation's No. 18-ranked prospect, according to Rivals.com, while ESPN (No. 47) and Scout.com (No. 61) also had him among the elite players.

Last month, he won the Guy Toph Award, which has been given annually since 1939 to Hillsborough County's top senior high-school football player.