Eighteen high school football players signed letters of intent with 6-time defending Pac-10 champion USC, Trojan head coach Pete Carroll announced today.

Additionally, OL Matt Meyer of Lincoln High in Stockton, Calif. enrolled at USC in January as a freshman and will participate in next month's spring practice. DB Shane Horton transferred to USC in January from UNLV, where he started 6 games as a freshman in 2007, but will sit out the 2008 season due to NCAA transfer rules.

"This is a great class for us," said Carroll, whose Trojans went 11-2 last season with a Rose Bowl victory and have appeared in an NCAA-record 6 consecutive BCS bowls, posted 6 straight 11-win seasons and had 6 consecutive AP Top 4 finishes. "We put together this class with an eye on filling needs throughout our depth chart and we did so by signing some very talented football players."

"We went after linemen and signed 10 of them, 5 on each side of the ball. And we added great speed athletes on the perimeter on both offense and defense."

"These players will all get a chance to show they can contribute to our team from the minute they get on the practice field. The competition will be wide open and I anticipate they'll take advantage of that, helping us immensely in our quest to be a championship team."

This fall's incoming freshmen are: DL Armond Armstead of Pleasant Grove HS in Elk Grove, Calif.; TE Blake Ayles of Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High; DB Brian Baucham of West Torrance (Calif.) High; DB T.J. Bryant of Lincoln High in Tallahassee, Fla.; WR Brice Butler of Norcross (Ga.) High; OL Daniel Campbell of Aldine High in Houston, Tex.; DL Jurrell Casey of Long Beach (Calif.) Poly High; OL Khaled Holmes of Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif.; DL Wes Horton of Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks, Calif.; DL Malik Jackson of Birmingham High in Van Nuys, Calif.; OL Matt Kalil of Servite High in Anaheim, Calif.; LB Uona Kaveinga of Leuzinger High in Lawndale, Calif.; DB Drew McAllister of Monte Vista High in Danville, Calif.; RB Curtis McNeal of Venice High in Los Angeles, Calif.; DL Nick Perry of King High in Detroit, Mich.; WR D.J. Shoemate of Servite High in Anaheim, Calif.; LB Maurice Simmons of Dominguez High in Compton, Calif.; and OL Tyron Smith of Rancho Verde High in Moreno Valley, Calif.