USC failures underscore the importance of the transfer portal

The transfer portal cannot be the main source of roster development at USC, but it must fill a few core needs. USC failed to do that in 2024. It shows.

USC football did not recruit nearly well enough in the 2023 and 2024 cycles to give itself the best possible chance of succeeding this season. That much should be clear. The Trojans have been playing second fiddle to Oregon and Dan Lanning in recruiting among West Coast schools. That matters. You can see the difference between the two programs and connect a good portion of that difference to recruiting results. Oregon has been pulling in generally better players than USC, and it shows. Let’s be absolutely clear: Recruiting is the primary driver and engine of program success in college football. It needs to be the main source of elite player acquisition. However, as much as recruiting success counts in this industry, we can’t dismiss or toss aside the crucial importance of the transfer portal. USC’s 2024 struggles magnify this, as do the Trojans’ many successes in 2022. We need to briefly but clearly mention this as we try to point a path to a better future for the Trojans under Lincoln Riley.

Yes, recruiting is the main area where college football programs create elite rosters. USC has not recruited well enough on the offensive line to give Miller Moss the best possible chance of succeeding. Moss was always going to need help from his offensive front, and in 2024, he is — on balance — not receiving enough of that help and support. Yet, as important and central as recruiting is, the transfer portal exists to help programs fill those two or three very acute needs at specific spots.

We know this USC offensive line is young. We know that there is a limit to this group’s level of experience. Therefore, USC really did need a junior or senior offensive tackle to hold down a crucial nerve-center spot on the line while the younger linemen were gradually developed and brought up within the program. USC basically needed what it gained in the transfer portal two years ago.

Bobby Haskins was that veteran offensive lineman, picked up in the portal, who became an essential glue guy for the 2022 USC offensive line. Without Haskins, that offensive line probably doesn’t click the way it did. Caleb Williams might not have won the Heisman. USC certainly would not have gone 11-1 in the 2022 regular season. That one key portal pickup at a hinge-point position mattered so much to USC. What also mattered for that 2022 team: transfer receiver Jordan Addison and transfer running back Travis Dye. USC picked up legitimate stars for its WR1 and RB1 positions. The portal can’t solve most of a team’s roster problems, but it can solve the most important ones. The transfer portal can fill the two or three key gaps with a veteran player who is ready to produce from Day 1, all while younger players can become developmental projects instead of being thrown into the fire. USC football is learning how important it is to make those key pickups in the transfer portal. This next portal cycle will be absolutely essential in improving the Trojans’ overall football product and giving this program a real future.

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USC transfer tracker — Trojans get elite receiver Dorian Singer, continue to grab Pac-12 transfers

The Trojans have secured a top-end receiver for 2023. Ralen Goforth will play for Washington. That and more in this updated #USC transfer tracker for Dec. 19.

Welcome to one of the most important weeks in college football: It’s the start of the transfer portal for the 2022-2023 offseason cycle. Buckle up. It’s going to be a wild ride.

College football now has its own equivalent of pro sports free agency. Players look at their own situations and come to the conclusion that for various reasons — playing time for some, coaching fit for others, winning games for others — it’s best to pack up and go somewhere else.

The transfer portal officially opened on Monday. Over 1,000 players have already entered or at least expressed an intent to enter the portal. We have our national transfer tracker to keep tabs on a lot of notable names.

Here, we present our USC transfer tracker. Right now, it has players headed out, but soon enough, we’ll be able to add new players coming in to play for Lincoln Riley in 2023.

We’ll update and refresh the list below as needed:

Insane story could create huge transfer portal opportunity for Lincoln Riley, USC

One of the wildest stories in the history of the coaching carousel could help #USC in a big way. We’ll explain this amazing turn of events.

And you thought the 2021 coaching carousel was crazy. Wait until you hear about the most remarkable coaching carousel story of all time, more remarkable than Lincoln Riley going to USC and Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame for LSU on back-to-back days. This one tops them both. What’s more: It could help Riley and USC in a very big way.

Imagine that a coach who had already flirted with another program a few years ago doggedly tries to remain on the job at School A. He gets onto the hot seat but coaches his way out of it.

Then he bails.

More than that, he not only bails; he goes to the school which is playing School A in a bowl game in just 12 days. He coaches School A on Nov. 26. He then leaves for School B on Dec. 5, just before coaching in a bowl game between School A and School B on Dec. 17.

That could never, ever happen … or at least, not until December of 2022. It really has happened. Again, USC could benefit.

We’ll lay out this true story below, and what it might mean for the Trojans and Lincoln Riley:

 

Transfer portal officially opens on December 5; Lincoln Riley is waiting to pounce

#USC plays Utah Dec. 2. The bowls are revealed Dec. 4. On Dec. 5, the portal officially opens. One #Oklahoma WR just said he’ll enter the portal.

USC’s substantial and immediate transformation in college football is the product of several forces. One central force is the impact of the transfer portal.

The obvious connection to make with the portal and its influence on USC is the simple fact that Lincoln Riley believes in the centrality of the portal. This is not a peripheral pursuit for him. Riley views the portal as essential to making USC better. It’s not a luxury or an add-on; it’s an absolute necessity.

Riley understands how the portal can transform rosters. So many other coaches do not. This has been a game-changer for USC.

Let’s review some of USC’s high-impact transfers and take note of some 2022-2023 transfer prospects while reminding you that the new portal cycle officially begins on December 5.

We can also tell you that Oklahoma receiver Theo Wease has expressed his desire to enter the portal when it does open on Dec. 5.

Lincoln Riley, USC are in a great position to raid Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M this offseason

Texas A&M and Louisville are both likely to endure a transfer portal exodus of highly-rated freshmen who want out. This is where Lincoln Riley can pounce. #USC

If you are looking at ways for USC to build itself up to a national championship standard for 2023 and then for its first Big Ten season in 2024, the transfer portal is going to be a central avenue for Lincoln Riley.

Among various head coaches at elite college football programs, Riley has already established himself as a leader in the transfer portal. This is how he immediately built back the USC roster. This is something he will continue to do in future years to stock his roster and address deficiencies.

Actual transfer portal declarations (players entering the portal) have not yet occurred in large numbers, but one can reasonably guess that exoduses and defections will begin to accumulate at the end of the regular season, which is one month away.

Two schools in particular are likely to provide a lot of high-quality transfers to Lincoln Riley’s USC program and other interested programs. Let’s go through the details on why this is true, and what it could mean: