USC Football: Trojans Have Major Competition For Ivy League Target
Your USC Trojans' defense is going to be a big offseason subject.
There are tons of ways to improve it – starting with coaching, which the hire of UCLA defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn solves.
The defensive line also needs some work, as USC consistently let up big play after big play, and lacked talent in a lot of ares outside of DT Bear Alexander.
To combat this, USC has directed recruiting efforts to UPenn defensive end Joey Slackman, who has entered the transfer portal.
The Cormack, New York native was Penn's best defensive player this past season, recording 50 tackles (23 solo, 2nd in the Ivy League), and throughout his career, was good for 115 tackles, 91 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks.
17 schools are in the fold for the 300-pound defensive lineman, including big names like Michigan, Oregon, Washington, Missouri, and Arizona.
This makes things difficult for the Trojans, as Slackman described his approach going into the process, per Neema Baddam of the Daily Pennsylvanian.
“My goal is to try to play in the NFL, so I figured I could take the next step and go to a bigger school that would help me develop better as an individual, and go to a team that I could try to help get wins and build my profile for NFL teams over the next year."
Given USC's defensive situation and the pipeline they have going into the NFL, other schools provide more lucrative opportunities than the Trojans.
That said, D'Anton Lynn could be the solution to turning the program around altogether, and Slackman would be a key piece in what should be a much-improved unit next fall.
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