Stop me if you have heard this one before: Another USC football player has entered the transfer portal.
On Tuesday afternoon, defensive lineman Elijah Hughes became the latest Trojan to put his name in the portal. The sophomore defensive lineman was the third player to depart he program that day, following safety Zion Branch and wide receiver Zachariah Branch.
Hughes signed with USC as a relatively unheralded three-star recruit in the 2023 cycle. In two years with the Trojans, Hughes recorded 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
According to Chris Trevino of 247Sports, Hughes entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag. Presumably, this means that he has already been in contact with one or multiple other schools.
Hughes will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
USC has a lot of roster spots to fill. The number of players the Trojans need to gain in the portal is large at the moment, and that is certainly cause for concern. The hope is that the caliber of portal players will be better than the players who are leaving the Trojans. USC has to hope that the exchanges become a net positive in the course of time.