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Nearly FBS football team has seen talent enter the transfer portal this month. But, few programs have been hit as hard as USC has, and it’s cause for concern for head coach Lincoln Riley and USC fans.
The last few days have been especially concerning, as four former highly-touted recruits have gone into the portal.
The most well-known is probably quarterback Malachi Nelson. Nelson, a Southern California native, was a five-star quarterback recruit in the class of 2023. He had been committed to Lincoln Riley dating back to Riley’s time at Oklahoma. But, he decided to enter the portal on Sunday as the team got ready to bring in Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard to be the starter next year.
Freshman linebacker Tackett Curtis also decided to enter the portal this week. The former top 150 recruit in the class of 2023 had to play a lot as a true freshman in the porous USC defense. He struggled at times, but he still made 40 tackles and picked up a lot of valuable experience. Curtis was certainly a piece they wanted to build around.
On Tuesday, Korey Foreman, the number-one recruit in the Class of 2023, announced his intention to enter the portal. The defensive end didn’t live up to his potential in his three years there so far, and battled injuries this year while only playing three games. But, again, a defense as bad as USC can’t afford to lose this kind of talent.
Domani Jackson, yet another former five-star defensive recruit also entered the transfer portal this week. USC simply cannot afford to lose players like the sophomore corner if they want to turn that defense around. Regardless of how he has played so far, it’s too much talent to let go elsewhere.
If you’re a USC fan, it’s time to start being concerned about the future of the program. Losing five games with a Heisman-winning quarterback is not good at all, and they have had well over a dozen players in the portal. The defensive coordinator hire of former UCLA defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn seems like a good hire. But, on paper, USC will be much worse than they were this year while joining a much better conference in the Big Ten.
If they struggle again, Lincoln Riley’s seat will start getting very hot.