USC Football: Trojans Join Growing List of Schools to Offer Oregon State Transfer Silas Bolden

Bolden is one of the top wide receivers in the transfer portal

Yesterday, former Oregon State wide receiver Silas Bolden entered the transfer portal. It took all but a few more hours for him to announce on his X/Twitter account that he had heard from Cal, USC, and Arizona, all calling to extend him a scholarship. 

Officially In.. https://t.co/lGzwYFR4lk

— $ilas (@silasbolden_) January 3, 2024

For context, today is the last day of the Fall transfer portal window. After today, players can not enter the transfer portal again until the spring period, which is a total of 15 days, from Tuesday, April 16th to Tuesday, April 30th. Oregon State is fresh off a convincing Sun Bowl loss to Notre Dame, capping off a season where the Beavers saw their former head coach Jonathan Smith leave for Michigan State. 

Silas Bolden, a Southern California product, has been productive for the Beavers not only as a returner, but as a reliable big play threat out at wide receiver. In 2023, the 5-foot-8 speedster turned in 746 yards on 54 catches with four touchdown catches. For Trojan fans, he might be comparable to a Zachariah Branch-type player, but perhaps a tad less prolific. As somebody who has proven he can contribute on special teams, and on offense, Bolden can offer versatility. 

Just today, USC signed former division three wideout Jaden Richardson out of Tufts University in Massachusetts. It would be easy to imagine Bolden playing a slot receiving role, and Richardson (at 6'2" and 200+ pounds) might be a better fit outside the hash. If USC can land Bolden, that would give the Trojans 10 verbal commitments out of the transfer portal. For context, USC landed 12 winter period portal transfers last offseason.