Tauali’i Purcell brings his USC target tour to Maui, testing his stock at Under Armour Next Camp

USC’s recruiting watch list is expanding beyond the mainland as the Under Armour Next Camp tour makes a stop in Maui, Hawaii over the Fourth of July weekend. One of the recruits expected to make an impression in the process is Tauali’i Purcell, a class of 2028 linebacker whom USC is pursuing as part of its longer-range defensive recruiting plan.

Purcell is listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds and is regarded as a three-star prospect. Per Rivals, he is ranked No. 46 at linebacker in the 2028 class. The camp setting matters for evaluation because it brings prospects into an organized week of drills and one-on-one looks, which can help college recruiters separate traits that show up on film from production seen under live testing conditions.

Sports Illustrated’s USC recruiting coverage ties Purcell’s attendance at the event to ongoing momentum in his recruitment. The report notes that USC is among the national programs that have already offered him, and it frames the camp as another chance for staff members to see him up close as the class continues to take shape.

The same coverage also points to the breadth of interest surrounding Purcell. The Rivals recruiting analyst Greg Biggins is cited saying programs such as Oregon, Penn State, Texas, and USC have offered and are excited to evaluate him further. That type of multi-program pull is typical for prospects early in the timeline, when officials are still calibrating how a prospect’s measurables translate to position fit and development plans.

Purcell is also connected to USC-adjacent recruiting storylines through his family. Sports Illustrated identifies him as the younger brother of Taimane Purcell, a class of 2026 tight end who signed with California. That relationship can be relevant for recruiters not because it guarantees outcomes, but because it can shape how a prospect views college football environments and how quickly he settles into off-field expectations tied to elite programs.

For USC, the value of a camp tour stop in Hawaii is mostly about access and consistency. The Trojans do not need a single event to confirm interest, but participation in a major recruiting circuit gives them additional film-and-drills context to compare against other linebacker options in the 2028 group. If Purcell continues to show athletic traits, physicality, and basic skill execution, he becomes easier to place on scholarship and priority boards as the staff narrows its recruiting targets for the years ahead.

The next phase to watch is straightforward: whether Purcell’s camp work leads to deeper recruiting conversations and whether his standing in the recruiting rankings continues to firm up as the evaluation cycle progresses. For USC, the immediate takeaway is that Purcell remains an active, visible target, and the Under Armour Next Camp stop in Maui offers another checkpoint on where he fits among the linebacker prospects the Trojans are tracking for the 2028 class.