After injuries and an aborted plan to enroll early, Joliet Catholic Academy star running back Ty Isaac put pen to paper Wednesday and signed to play football for the University of Southern California.
Isaac gave the school an oral commitment in May, but his plans to start at USC in January had to be cancelled when he was unable to graduate early.
Despite the setback -- and some concerns over coach Lane Kiffin's direction of the USC team, which had a bad 2012 season -- Issac stuck with his commitment and signed on the dotted line Wednesday. (Here's his actual signature, which was posted on the USC Web site.)
"I think the whole process, it kind of teaches you about yourself," Isaac told the Chicago Tribune Tuesday. "It is tough to go to a school so far away. They didn't have the best season. Everyone who lives around you is saying you should stay in the Midwest.
"It's tough. It wears on you. At that point you've got to figure out how mentally tough you are. Is USC the right decision? I wasn't going to base that on wins and losses, just the best situation for me. I wouldn't say I had doubts. I had concerns everybody has in the process. I made the right decision."
Issac, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 225, was ranked the No. 4 running back in the country and No. 27 overall.
Want to know more about Isaac? Here are 20 questions he answered for ESPN, which were just posted on the sports channel's Web site: insider.espn.go.com/blog/colleges/usc/post/_/id/8588/20-questions-rb-ty-isaac