Two plus two equals four. USC plus improved line play equals a better Trojan roster and a team which can much more easily reach the College Football Playoff. Some equations in life and sports are really very simple.
There’s obviously a need for USC to beef up its secondary and its linebackers in the transfer portal. USC needs help wherever it can get it on defense, and any reinforcements on that side of the ball will be welcomed with open arms in Los Angeles. However, let’s be honest: If one priority exceeds all others at USC in the transfer portal, it’s line play. We’ll take them on offense, we’ll take them on defense.
USC needs nasty linemen and more of them. USC needs to have high-quality linemen further down the depth chart if a starter such as Andrew Vorhees goes down. Mason Murphy wasn’t good enough or ready enough against Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game. USC needs to have more — and better — depth up front. The Trojans needed to give Tuli Tuipulotu more help. He didn’t have that help against Utah in Las Vegas.
Line play is the focus in the portal. We talked to Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football:
[mm-video type=video id=01gka0mc78xrs1z0qtrx playlist_id=none player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gka0mc78xrs1z0qtrx/01gka0mc78xrs1z0qtrx-5357f75dc515c2fef3aa78aae70f1274.jpg]
[listicle id=53979]