Isaiah Pola-Mao to USC: Trojans Land 4-Star Safety Prospect

With the wealth of high-octane offenses in college football,USC is thrilled to get help in the secondary as part of its 2017 recruiting class from safety Isaiah Pola-Mao.Ryan Abraham of USCFootball.com reported Pola-Mao's pledge to theTrojans.Pola-Mao is a unique safety because his size is rare at the position. He's listed at 6'4" and 190 pounds already, with the room to fill out a long, lean frame.Fortunately, the talent matches Pola-Mao's size. He's a 4-star prospect, the No. 1 safety in the state of Arizona, the No. 14 overall safety in the country and the No. 140 player in the 2017 class, per Scout.The scouting reports rave about Pola-Mao's ability to use his size as a weapon instead of a crutch, as can be the case with bigger defensive backs. Scout's analysis highlights his length, ball skills and huge frame.Even though Pola-Mao doesn't have an elite burst, he's hardly devoid of speed. He also has a great nose for the ball, reading and processing what the opposing quarterback is doing quickly.USC's return to glory under head coach Clay Helton continues to pay dividends as Pola-Mao spurned Washington, which was also pursuing him, in order to join the Trojans.Pola-Mao will join a defense that ended 2016 on a high note. The Trojans allowed 18.6 points per game during their eight-game winning streak to end the regular season and were the only team to hold Washington to less than 31 points.Helton has stealthily turned USC into a defensive powerhouse. The program has offensive firepower with the rise of quarterback Sam Darnold and playmaking prowess of running back Ronald Jones, but defense is what led the Trojans to return to the national conversation in 2016.Adding a dynamic playmaker in the secondary will keep USC's defense firing on all cylinders for years to come.Safeties like Pola-Mao are rare. Seattle Seahawks star Kam Chancellor is built like a linebacker, but he's only 6'3". Being able to use those long limbs and cover a lot of ground, as Chancellor so often did at his peak, allows Pola-Mao to get away with not having the best first step in the secondary.The big task for Pola-Mao will be adjusting to the speed at the next level. He already has the intelligence to understand where to position himself, but knowing when to get in the proper position will determine his ultimate ceiling in college.Given Pola-Mao's natural physical attributes, he's going to be a dangerous defensive back in college as soon as he's asked to put on a Trojans uniform.
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