All of the rankings in this article are according to On3.
The transfer portal giveth and the transfer portal taketh away.
And it has been much more of the latter for the USC football team.
So far, the Trojans have lost 17 players to the portal, three of which are former five-star recruits according to On3. However, two of those players — sophomore cornerback Domani Jackson and junior defensive lineman Korey Foreman — only received a three-star designation as a transfer, while freshman Malachi Nelson comes into the portal as a four-star.
While departures on the defensive side — there have been eight of those so far — can be partly attributed to a new defensive coaching staff coming into the fold, the nine offensive departures have started to raise alarms.
The Trojans have lost three wide receivers, leaving only seven at the position who caught a pass this year heading into next season. An additional two receivers declared for the NFL Draft. With the loss of Nelson, it leaves redshirt sophomore quarterback Miller Moss as one of only two scholarship players at the position for next season — and the only one who has taken a college snap — assuming junior quarterback Caleb Williams officially declares for the NFL Draft.
It leaves certain position groups either dangerously thin, or with too much inexperience to play at a high level heading into Big Ten play next year — four of the seven previously mentioned pass catchers are true freshmen. The Trojans will look to their newly-signed freshman recruiting class to help fill those holes.
But for more experienced players, USC will look to the transfer portal.
Luckily for the Trojans, it has head coach Lincoln Riley, who previously has been described by former USC head coach and current Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin as the ‘Portal King.’ Riley helped bring in the No. 2-ranked transfer class in 2022 and the No. 3-ranked class in the last cycle.
The Trojans have earned commitments from six players — including two just yesterday from Mississippi State — and are off to a similar start as last year. At this point in the 2023 cycle, USC also had six transfers committed to the school, closing its class with 14 transfers.
While senior cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson is only rated as a three-star, the transfer from Mississippi State could be one of the most important players currently committed. Nicholson played in 25 games across the last two seasons for Bulldogs and could end up similar to both redshirt senior cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace and former-Trojan cornerback Mekhi Blackmon. Both of the players led USC cornerbacks in interceptions the year they transferred to the school.
The other Mississippi State Bulldog is senior running back Jo’Quavious Marks. The Trojans have had success bringing in transfer portal running backs, most recently redshirt junior running back MarShawn Lloyd. Marks only played in nine games, but still led the Bulldogs in rushing with 573 yards. He should get more touches next season though, with Lloyd declaring for the NFL Draft and redshirt senior running back Austin Jones likely doing the same.
The Trojans also brought in junior inside linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold and redshirt junior defensive back Akili Arnold, both from Oregon State. Mascarenas-Arnold is only rated as a three-star, but he earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 First Team earlier this month and should improve USC’s tackling in 2024.
If past trends carry over into this year, the Trojans are likely not even halfway done with their transfer class. So, multiple players currently in the portal are candidates to end up at USC in the coming weeks.
According to Riley, the Trojans are looking to take two quarterbacks, one older and one younger, before next season. While there are many high-level quarterbacks in the portal, the most buzz has been around Kansas State senior quarterback Will Howard. Four different On3 experts have predicted that Howard will end up a Trojan.
Howard would be a good get for USC, throwing for 2643 yards and 24 touchdowns this past season. The veteran also showed an ability to run with the ball, rushing for 351 yards and nine touchdowns. He had an interception problem this season with 10 picks, but Riley will hope to fix that problem to prevent Howard from becoming the first Trojan quarterback to throw double-digit interceptions since JT Daniels did so in 2018.
There could also be some crosstown movement, with defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn likely trying to poach some players from his previous post at UCLA. Redshirt freshman defensive back Kamari Ramsey and senior defensive back John Humphrey were Bruins last season, but both entered the portal. Ramsey has already received a prediction to transfer to USC and Humphrey has received an offer, but neither have announced their commitments yet.
The transfer portal is an ever-moving object in this day and age of college football. Annenberg Media will continue to make updates about USC adding and subtracting players.