The spring transfer portal window closed to new additions at midnight last Tuesday, which means players won’t be able to switch schools again until December without having to sit out a full season. Players who entered before Tuesday’s deadline can still find new homes if they haven’t landed at a new school yet. With the deadline past, let’s take a look at the new teams for former Trojans who transferred out after last season.
In total, 23 scholarship players left the program. The list below is in alphabetical order.
BECOME A USCFOOTBALL.COM VIP MEMBER TODAY! Right now you can subscribe and get your first month for just $1. Don’t miss an opportunity to get the best USC Trojan athletics coverage on the planet at a huge discount! Click this link to go to our signup page and once you are in, that is 365 days of access to all of our VIP content, the Peristyle premium message board (the oldest and busiest Trojan football message board there is), our weekly insider War Room features and lots more!
2023 stats: Eight carries for 81 yards, one TD, one reception for 10 yards; 46 total snaps.
USC career stats: Three seasons; 94 carries for 466 yards, six touchdowns, eight receptions for 66 yards; 275 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Darwin Barlow‘s transfer to UNC was all about expanded opportunities. He didn’t get much playing time with the Trojans despite making an impact play nearly every time he got on thr field. He will hope to see the field more in Chapel Hill. Barlow started his college career at TCU before playing the last three years at USC.
2023 stats: Made 12 tackles with 1.5 sacks in nine games (two starts); 225 total snaps.
USC career stats: Four seasons; 32 tackles with 1.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss; 602 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
With a completely new defensive staff coming in for the second time in De’Jon Benton‘s USC career, it made sense for him to find a new home. Benton played four seasons at USC.
2023 stats: Three carries for 16 yards, one TD; three receptions for 18 yards; 26 total snaps.
USC career stats: Two seasons; 45 carries for 243 yards and four touchdowns, 19 catches for 193 yards and three touchdowns; 207 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
The Raleek Brown saga at USC has always been confusing to me. Brown arrived on campus as a top 100 recruit, who looked primed for a bigger role in the offense after a promising freshman season where he averaged 5.4 yards per carry. But the coaching staff moved him to slot receiver in his sophomore season, which led to Brown choosing to redshirt and then transfer. He’s now at Arizona State, where he will play running back.
2023 stats: One carry for seven yards; 34 total snaps (4 offensive snaps).
USC career stats: Four seasons; 34 total snaps (4 offensive snaps).
Why the fresh start?
Matt Colombo transferred to San Diego to get more playing time and possibly to be on scholarship.
2023 stats: Made 40 tackles with two sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, one pass breakup. Played in 12 games with eight starts in his lone USC season; 488 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
As a top 150 high school prospect, Tackett Curtis was recruited to help fix the USC defense. He ended up playing a lot in his lone USC season, but the impact the coaching staff hoped he’d have never came to fruition. Curtis struggled mightily earning an overall 44.3 Pro Football Focus grade for defense, which was the lowest on the team. The coaches who recruited Curtis, former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch and former linebackers coach Brian Odom, were both fired at the end of the season. Between Curtis’ struggles and the coaching turnover, a transfer out made sense. Now at Wisconsin, Curtis will reunite with Grinch, who was hired as a safeties coach in Madison this offseason.
2023 stats: Played in three games at right guard logging 18 offensive snaps; 38 total snaps.
USC career stats: Four seasons; four games; 39 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Andres Dewerk never came close to cracking the USC offensive line rotation in his four years at the school. At App State, he’ll be looking for more playing time.
2023 stats: Made nine tackles in six games with two starts; 75 total snaps.
USC career stats: One season; nine tackles; 75 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Tre’Quon Fegans didn’t play in his first college season at Alabama, and he was used sparingly at USC last year. Fegans was a top 125 prospect nationally in the 2022 class, so staying in the Power Five makes sense. He’ll be hoping to play more at his third school in three years.
2023 stats: Played in three games making one tackle; 26 total snaps.
USC career stats: Three seasons; 25 tackles with 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss, one interception; 374 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Outside of his interception against UCLA in 2022, Korey Foreman didn’t make much of an impact in his three-year USC career. He redshirted this past season. The one-time nation’s No. 1 prospect in the 2021 recruiting class will hope a fresh start at Fresno State will lead to more production. It’s possible a new program and coaching staff could turn his college career around.
2023 stats: DNP
USC career stats: Three seasons; made ten tackles with one interception; 141 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Xamarion Gordon will be in search of more playing time at Coastal Carolina after not being used at all by Alex Grinch and Lincoln Riley in 2023. It was pretty surprising that Gordon wasn’t even used on special teams after playing 115 snaps under Grinch and Riley in 2022.
2023 stats: Made 32 tackles with three pass breakups in 11 games (all starts); 716 total snaps.
USC career stats: Two seasons; 34 tackles, four pass breakups; 781 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Former USC cornerbacks coach Donte Williams was Domani Jackson‘s primary recruiter at USC. Williams took a job at Georgia this offseason. Between his departure and Jackson’s camp being frustrated with USC’s overall defensive operation the last two seasons, a divorce made sense for Jackson and the Trojans. Jackson was a five-star prospect in the 2022 class — his services were in high demand when he entered the portal in the winter window. He committed to Nick Saban at Alabama, but Saban has since retired, replaced by former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer.
2023 stats: Made 17 catches for 146 yards and one touchdown in nine games (one start); 211 total snaps.
USC career stats: Three seasons; 46 catches for 498 yards and five touchdowns, two carries for 72 yards; 562 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Michael Jackson III is likely looking for a bigger role after only starting one game last season. He’ll hope to get more playing time in Athens.
2023 stats: Made 21 tackles with four sacks and one fumble recovery in 12 games (zero starts); 347 total snaps.
USC career stats: Two seasons; made 21 tackles with four sacks, six tackles for loss and one fumble recovery; 380 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Romello Height definitely could have helped USC this season after being a rotational piece a year ago. He’ll likely start and play more at Georgia Tech though. The Georgia native began his college career at Auburn in 2020 but has dealt with injuries throughout his college career. A starter in 2022, Height suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 of 2022, his first at USC, but bounced back nicely in his redshirt junior season last year.
2023 stats: DNP
USC career stats: One season; DNP.
Why the fresh start?
Deijon Laffitte likely wasn’t going to play much this fall after redshirting last season. He left in search of a more immediate opportunity.
2023 stats: Completed 1 of 3 passes for zero yards in one appearance in his lone USC season; four total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Malachi Nelson, a five-star prospect in the 2023 class, saw the writing on the wall: He wasn’t going to beat out Miller Moss for USC’s starting quarterback job in the fall. Moss’ emergence led to Nelson transfer to Boise State, where he’s the expected starter.
2023 stats (at Texas A&M): Made 17 tackles with one sack and three tackles for loss in 12 games (one start); 255 defensive snaps.
Why the fresh start?
We’re still not totally sure. Isaiah Raikes transferred to USC from Texas A&M in January. But after spring practice, he re-entered the portal and transferred to Auburn before ever taking a competitive snap at USC.
2023 stats: DNP
USC career stats: Two seasons; 15 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Fabian Ross will be looking more playing time in Hawaii’s secondary.
2023 stats: Caught 24 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games (10 starts) in his lone USC season; 380 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Dorian Singer arrived on USC’s campus with arguably the highest expectations of any of the new additions last year. In 2022 at Arizona, Singer caught 66 passes for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns, which included a 141-yard, three-touchdown performance against USC. Singer ultimately didn’t come close to matching the production from his sophomore season at Arizona as a junior at USC and has since transferred to Utah. A fresh start was probably best for both Singer and USC after last season’s disappointing campaign.
2023 stats: Played in 10 games at right tackle with eight starts in his lone USC season; 369 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Michael Tarquin came to USC from Florida slotted by Josh Henson to play left tackle. But he lost that job in the spring and was moved to starting right tackle, a job he lost during USC’s regular season defeat to Notre Dame. Being relegated to a backup role meant Tarquin was always going to be a transfer portal candidate, and he entered in December, 12 months after committing to USC.
2023 stats: Made nine tackles in 13 games playing defense in only two games; 154 total snaps.
USC career stats: Three seasons; made 21 tackles with one tackle for loss; 405 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Even though he announced his intention to enter the transfer portal prior to USC’s Holiday Bowl win over Louisville, Chris Thompson Jr. chose to stick around and play in the game. Thompson had such an impact during the six weeks of practice leading up to the Holiday Bowl, he was named a captain. Thompson ultimately wound up transferring to Tulsa, where he’ll be looking for more playing time, but his team-first mentality in his final year at USC should be remembered.
2023 stats: Made 29 catches for 305 yards and two touchdowns. Had two carries for zero yards; 367 total snaps.
USC career stats: Two seasons; 69 catches for 936 yards and seven touchdowns, three carries for ten yards; 944 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Mario Williams‘ offensive snaps fell off a cliff after USC beat Arizona 43-41 in triple overtime last season. Williams went from averaging 29 offensive snaps per game during the first six weeks of the regular season to 15 in the second half of the season. His lack of usage likely led to his exit.
2023 stats: Two receptions for five yards and one touchdown in 12 games; 187 total snaps.
USC career stats: Five seasons; 12 receptions for 66 yards and one touchdown; 702 total snaps.
Why the fresh start?
Jude Wolfe has battled multiple injuries in his five years at USC. He was finally healthy last season and didn’t feature too much in Lincoln Riley’s offense. It will be interesting to see how much run Wolfe gets at SDSU in his final year of eligibility. Former Washington tight end Mark Redman was the primary tight end for the Aztecs last year. He finished the season with 38 catches for 408 yards and three touchdowns.
OL Cooper Lovelace
LS Daniel Meunier (walk on)
OL Andrew Milek
DL Stanley Ta’ufo’ou
CB Ceyair Wright
© 2005-2024 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc.
