Tag: Korey Foreman

Fresno State’s Korey Foreman prepares for reputation-making football season

Jeff Tedford had great things to say about Korey Foreman before he had to retire due to health reasons.

This offseason, the Fresno State Bulldogs and head coach Jeff Tedford landed former five-star recruit and USC transfer Korey Foreman.

During the Mountain West media days earlier this month, head coach Jeff Tedford — before retiring from coaching due to health reasons — offered his highest praise yet for the USC transfer, comparing Foreman to New York Giants Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor.

“There was one practice where he had like three sacks, two picks and one was one-handed,” Tedford said on the Mountain West Network. “I went into the defensive room and asked, ‘Who let Lawrence Taylor on the field?’ That’s what he looked like.”

Korey Foreman, was the No. 2 overall recruit on the 247Sports composite list for class of 2021 college football including being the No.1 player in California and the No.1 edge rusher in the nation.

The former Corona Centennial (Calif.) star didn’t live up to expectations during his three-year tenure at USC, managing to accumulate 24 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and one interception over his freshman and sophomore years. In 2023, he opted for a redshirt year before entering the transfer portal. It will be interesting to see how Fresno State’s interim staff, with Tedford now retired, handles Foreman and, for that matter, the full Bulldog roster in 2024.

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Fresno State football is now ‘USC North’ with Korey Foreman

Korey Foreman is one of multiple former Trojans on Fresno State’s 2024 defense. This will be interesting.

The transfer portal spits out a lot of fascinating storylines every year. In 2024, one noticeable plot point is that former USC Trojans could figure prominently on the Fresno State Bulldogs’ defense. Fresno State football will have a distinct USC flavor this year, with Korey Foreman at the forefront.

247Sports has more on this story, beginning with the recent transfer of Deijon Laffitte from USC to FSU:

“(Laffitte) adds to the former Trojan influence already on the Bulldogs’ roster. In Saturday’s spring preview, former USC linebacker Tuasivi Nomura and former Trojan defensive end (Korey) Foreman were both on the first-team defense. Foreman had a highlight tackle for loss on the opening drive.

“He looked great,” Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford said of Foreman. “He’s very difficult to block. You could tell on that play. He’s very fast, he can chase things down. He’s done a great job of coming, getting up to speed with our defensive calls and things, and he executes really well.”

It will be fascinating to see if Fresno State can develop Foreman after USC and Alex Grinch failed to do so.

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Most intriguing transfer portal options at defensive end

Most intriguing transfer portal options at defensive end #GoBucks

We already broke down our expectations for how Ohio State could handle the quarterback position (which it has handled) and then dove into the possible running backs (which it has also handled). We also recently covered the wide receiver position (if things break a certain way), tight ends, and offensive tackle, guards, and of course, the center position that was also already addressed by the staff. But now, we move on to the defensive side of the ball and we will start at defensive end.

Most of the guys on this list have committed already and the winter transfer portal is winding down. Still, these lists also provide the landing spot for these players, which tell an interesting story within the national landscape. For example, Indiana made some heavy-hitting moves in the transfer portal on the offensive side of the football. but let’s see which teams went out of their way to add one of the following big fish.

Korey Foreman, who failed to reach his potential at USC, seeks fresh start at Fresno State

Korey Foreman finds his transfer landing spot.

The USC Trojans never got what they were hoping for out of former five-star recruit Korey Foreman. In his freshman year in 2021, he had 2.5 sacks with seven solo tackles in eight games. Then his numbers went down in 2022 despite playing in 12 games.

In 2023, Foreman played in just three games and was nowhere to be found. He ended up entering the transfer portal. On Thursday, Foreman made it official and committed to Fresno State, as he posted on his Instagram page.

Foreman is originally from Corona, California. He is staying in the state and will become an immediate contributor to the Fresno State defense under coach Jeff Tedford.

Foreman technically redshirted this year after playing just three games, so he has an extra year of eligibility. Foreman becomes the highest-ranked recruit ever for Fresno State, and it will be worth watching to see how he does with the Bulldogs next season.

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8 transfer portal entrants Alabama could pursue

Alabama has struck gold multiple times by landing stars from the transfer portal. Here are eight names currently in the portal to keep an eye on!

The transfer portal season is upon us. There are players and coaches exiting programs left and right for better situations. The decisions made by these players are done in their own best interest, regardless of how fans online feel about it.

Oftentimes, Alabama lands transfers who are looking to make it to the next level. In the past, the Crimson Tide have helped develop transfers like Tyler Steen, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Landon Dickerson. All of them have gone on to the NFL and are currently on active rosters.

Whatever the case may be, Alabama has done an exemplary job of recruiting players in the transfer portal.

Roll Tide Wire takes a closer look at eight transfer portal entrants that Alabama could look to pursue.

Which school is likely to take a chance on Korey Foreman, USC’s five-star bust?

It’s a fascinating question.

Korey Foreman has entered the transfer portal, as you know by now. The California native is a former five-star recruit who headlined USC’s 2021 recruiting class.

According to the 247Sports composite, Foreman was the top defensive lineman and the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. He came to the Trojans as the top in-state player in the cycle, but he contributed just 25 total tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, and one interception during his three years at USC.

USC has been hit particularly hard on the defensive side of the ball this week. Multiple transfers have left the program. Domani Jackson, Tackett Curtis, and Foreman were all top recruits in their respective classes, but their primary recruiters either won’t be back or aren’t expected to be back at USC next season.

I expect tons of teams to be suitors for the talented Foreman. Keep LSU, Clemson, Oregon, Washington, Oregon, UCLA, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Arizona and Colorado to be in the mix for Korey Foreman this offseason.

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Lincoln Riley says USC is considering a redshirt for Korey Foreman

We told you in the offseason not to get your hopes up for Korey Foreman. A redshirt is very much in play as a possibility.

The USC career of Korey Foreman is stuck in neutral.

At a media scrum after USC practice on Tuesday, Lincoln Riley — upon being asked by a reporter — said USC is considering giving a redshirt to Korey Foreman. This is a clear indication that no one should expect Foreman to be a significant contributor to the defense at any remaining point in the 2023 season.

We didn’t spend a lot of time discussing Foreman in the offseason because we were skeptical of him and didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. We needed to see real improvement before we talked up Foreman as a likely contributor to this defense. That instinct — skepticism toward Foreman — proved to be a correct one.

Foreman made one huge play in his USC career, the interception which sealed the win over UCLA last year. It was a very big play. If Foreman does nothing else at USC, at least he will have that moment. However, Trojan fans were expecting this player, this career, to have an impact which reached far beyond one timely play in one game.

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USC win over Colorado feels hollow because Alex Grinch isn’t doing his job.

Experts think Alex Grinch will prevent USC from making the Pac-12 Championship Game.

The coach who ripped Jordan Addison for transferring to USC is now staring at a humiliating season in Pittsburgh.

2024 NFL draft: Preseason EDGE watch list and early rankings

2024 NFL draft: Preseason EDGE watch list and early rankings from Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon

The EDGE moniker is a relatively recent name, but EDGE players have been around for a long time. It’s essentially a mix of outside linebackers and defensive ends who have the primary task of rushing the passer. Sometimes they’re stand-up OLB types (think Von Miller), while others are hand-in-dirt ends (think Myles Garrett).

It’s a position where collegiate production is important but athletic upside matters quite a bit, perhaps more than any other spot. The early evaluation of this EDGE class shows a couple of high-end prospects and then a group that is variable based on team/scheme preferences; the No. 3 here might not be in the top 8 for a team that doesn’t run the particular type of scheme that he best fits.

These are very fluid rankings. In general, these are early impressions about the NFL potential of players who still have a considerable amount of football to play before they’re drafted. Some underclassmen are included here strictly as mentions; it is not meant to advocate for a player to leave early.

After watching enough to get a baseline feel for the players, here is an early listing and my preliminary ranking for the EDGEs in the NFL draft class of 2024.

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Why Korey Foreman could hold the key to Alex Grinch’s success (or termination) at USC

If Korey Foreman succeeds, everyone at USC succeeds. If he fails, everyone who has coached at USC over the past two years looks really bad.

Korey Foreman, one could reasonably argue, is the most important USC defensive player heading into the 2023 season.

Think about it.

Foreman was recruited by Donte Williams. He is connected to Clay Helton’s tenure and was retained by Alex Grinch. In 2022, he didn’t develop as fully as Grinch and Lincoln Riley would have hoped. He is an edge rusher. If he becomes a dynamic player at his particular position — in performance of his particular role — he becomes a huge value add for the Trojans. If he fails, he will represent a lot of wasted time and effort. He will become a minus, not a plus, on Donte Williams’ resume.

Foreman succeeding would validate Williams and Helton, but also Riley and Grinch. He would give USC depth and quality. He would bother the elite crop of quarterbacks which will play Pac-12 football in 2023.

Foreman succeeding knits together so many points of uncertainty for USC. Foreman failing would reflect poorly on past and current USC head coaches and defensive coaches. If he thrives, everyone wins, even those no longer attached to the program. Alex Grinch probably saves his job, which means USC wins at least 11 games and wins the Pac-12. If Foreman stumbles, everyone loses. Grinch’s player development reputation takes a severe, perhaps permanent, hit.

Korey Foreman is truly carrying an enormous weight heading into this very long offseason.

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Korey Foreman offers a story of inspiration and dedication at USC

#FightOn is real. Korey Foreman fought on, as did Alex Grinch. They created one of the signature moments of #USC’s 2022 season. There’s a lesson here.

Just as we all predicted, Korey Foreman made the defining, deciding play of USC’s victory over UCLA this past weekend.

No one needs to tell USC fans how improbable that outcome is or was. USC fans have been begging and pleading for something, anything, to happen from Foreman this season. No one expected that moment to come, and most of all not in a 48-45 shootout versus UCLA, a game with barely any punts and with very few defensive stops in the second half.

It did happen, however. It’s now a part of USC’s story and this season’s journey. What do we make of this? What perspectives are worth amplifying in the aftermath of Foreman’s remarkable play?

Let’s talk: