RECRUITING: Gorman’s Bolden commits to Southern California

Bishop Gorman junior defensive back Damuzhea Bolden made an oral commitment to Southern California on Monday, according to multiple online reports.

Bolden's commitment is nonbinding, and the first day he can sign a letter of intent is Feb. 1, 2017. USC's coaches cannot comment until that time.

"The timing just felt right to me," Bolden told Scout.com. "I know USC is where I want to be so there was no need to drag it out. I want to be able to to focus on school and football and not stress about recruiting and I can do that now.

"I still plan to take my visits and enjoy that part of the process, but I'm a Trojan. I wanted to wait and see who the new head coach would be and I'm comfortable with Coach (Clay) Helton. ... (T)his is a dream come true for me and it feels great to be a Trojan."

The 6-foot-3-inch, 175-pound Bolden is rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com. He is ranked No. 201 overall in the Scout 300 for the class of 2017.

Bolden was tied for the team lead with three interceptions and third in tackles (55) this season as Gorman captured its seventh straight large-school state title.

Bolden was offered a scholarship by the Trojans in October and committed even though USC has yet to hire a defensive backs coach. Bolden also has offers from most of the Pac-12 along with Colorado State, Hawaii, Oklahoma State and UNLV.