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  • Quarterback Sam Darnold looks for an open man during a...

    Quarterback Sam Darnold looks for an open man during a college showcase in May.

  • San Clemente High quarterback Sam Darnold has committed to USC.

    San Clemente High quarterback Sam Darnold has committed to USC.

  • San Clemente quarterback Sam Darnold, right, runs down field as...

    San Clemente quarterback Sam Darnold, right, runs down field as Liam Buhl chases during the San Clemente college showcase in May.

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Dan Albano. Sports HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Staff Mug Shot taken August 26, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER.

San Clemente senior-to-be quarterback and Elite 11 selection Sam Darnold has committed to USC, he confirmed Friday.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Darnold had narrowed his choices to the Trojans, Utah and Duke but said in a text message that he picked USC because, “I want to stay in SoCal for the rest of my life and the opportunity (to play for the Trojans).”

Darnold’s pledge gives USC two Elite 11 quarterbacks in its 2015 recruiting class. St. Bonaventure of Ventura quarterback Ricky Town (6-4, 210) committed to USC in January.

“It (will) be great competition,” Darnold said of the two-quarterback class.

Darnold made an unofficial visit to USC on Wednesday, San Clemente football coach Jaime Ortiz said. The Trojans offered Darnold a scholarship in June.

“It was a great visit for Sam and solidified his feelings about where he belonged and that was USC,” Ortiz said.

Darnold, who also plays basketball, missed San Clemente’s last seven games last season after breaking his foot. He emerged in the spring and summer as one of the fastest-rising recruits in the nation.

Darnold also plays basketball for San Clemente. Shortly after returning from the Elite 11/The Opening in Oregon, he played a basketball game later that day in San Diego for the Tritons, Ortiz said.

He also is the second senior-to-be quarterback from the county to commit to a Pac-12 school, joining Servite’s Travis Waller (Oregon).

Darnold and San Clemente open the Surf City passing tournament at Huntington Beach on Saturday against Tesoro at 8:45 a.m. San Clemente is coming off a runner-up finish to St. Bonaventure of Ventura last weekend at the Under Armour Rumble at the Ranch Passing League tournament at El Rancho in Pico Rivera. Darnold was intercepted just once in 128 attempts, Ortiz said. …

Reigning CIF State Open Division champion St. John Bosco highlights the entries for Saturday’s competitive but fun-filled Surf City event, which includes a lineman competition.

The Braves and UCLA quarterback commit Josh Rosen, who finished second to Hart of Newhall last weekend at the Edison passing tournament, join a field that includes Mission Hills of San Marcos, Orange Lutheran, Bishop Amat of La Puente, Huntington Beach, Tesoro, Santa Margarita, Crespi of Encino, El Toro, Buena Park and Aliso Niguel among others.

Santa Margarita and rising junior-to-be quarterback KJ Costello reached the semifinals at Edison, losing to Bosco, 25-14.

The 16-team passing tournament begins at 8:45 a.m. and ends with placement games at 12:50 p.m.

The second annual event also features a hot dog eating contest for the linemen. One member of each team takes the five-minute “hot dog eating challenge.”

“It’s sloppy,” Huntington Beach football coach Eric Lo said.