USC Trojans Transfer Portal Additions Deliver Inconsistent Impact

USC coach Lincoln Riley said numerous times this past offseason that he wants to build his roster through high school recruiting, rather than relying heavily on the transfer portal.

In an era of college football where you can flip your roster overnight with the portal, just because you can, doesn’t mean it’s the best option.

USC Trojans Transfer Portal Lincoln Riley Big Ten Waymond Jordan Bishop Fitzgerald Injury Report Keeshawn Silver NIL — Sep 13, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans coach had done so in his first couple seasons in Los Angeles. This past year, Southern Cal used the portal to fill glaring needs and has had very little return on their investments, particularly on defense.

The transfer portal has not been a total disaster for USC. They found a couple of stars in the backfield before they were ravaged by injuries and a game-changer at the safety position.

Secondary

The Trojans lost its top cornerback in Jaylin Smith, who was drafted in the third round by the Houston Texans this past year. Jacobe Covington, John Humphrey and Greedy Vance exhausted their eligibility, so cornerback became an instant need.

USC signed San Jose State transfer DJ Harvey, who was expected to be a plug-and-play starter as a redshirt senior. He started alongside DeCarlos Nicholson in the season opener, but then saw his snap count decline over the next four weeks. And after playing just five snaps against Illinois in week 5, Harvey has not taken a single rep at cornerback the last two games.

Chasen Johnson, the UCF transfer, was expected to compete for a starting job after starting four games as a true freshman under Trovon Reed with the Knights in 2024.

Johnson followed Reed to USC, but the Florida native was hampered from the start with a knee injury that kept him out for a majority of fall camp and ultimately led to him playing just two games before he was lost for the season after week 3.

Injuries happen, and Johnson can still end being a great player for the Trojans, but they could desperately use him right now. Cornerback is a major issue for the Trojans and it’s something that won’t be fixed this season.

Fitzgerald has been a fantastic addition at safety. He added another veteran presence to the Trojans new-look secondary. The NC State transfer earned midseason All-American honors after recording five interceptions in the first six games.

Kennedy Urlacher has primarily been a special teams player as the fourth safety, which was expected with three upperclassmen ahead of him. It’s too early to give Urlacher a full assessment, but the Notre Dame transfer is someone that staff is very high on for the future.

Interior Defensive Line

Size on the defensive front was a problem for USC in its inaugural season in the Big Ten. So, the Trojans picked up two massive interior defensive linemen from the SEC in Kentucky transfer Keeshawn Silver and Georgia transfer Jamaal Jarrett.

Silver’s impact has been very minimal, but has largely been a disappointment and Jarrett has fallen out of the rotational. Jarrett plays are almost exclusively when they want a larger body in the game, but he has not appeared in the last two games.

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The two have battled injuries since they arrived on campus, which severely limited their practice time in the spring and during fall camp.

Notre Dame pushed the Trojans defensive front all night this past weekend, registering 306 yards on the ground. Those were the types of games Silver and Jarrett were brought in too help prevent because of their size.

Now, the blame shouldn’t solely be placed on them, there’s plenty of that to go around. But what the Trojans were expecting when they brought Silver and Jarrett out west has not come to fruition.

Offensive Weapons

The running backs were a massive hit. Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders gave USC one of the top one-two punches in college football. However, Sanders was lost for the season with a knee injury he suffered against Michigan in week 7. And in the same game, Jordan suffered an ankle injury that will cost him 4-6 weeks.

Prince Strachan suffered an ankle injury in the season opener that kept him out the next two games. He’s been available since week 4, but has yet to appear in a game since the opener.

That has more to do with where he is on the depth chart, rather than returning with a injury. Strachan was third string on the initial depth chart that came out after fall camp and he is not even on the current two-deep one.

Adding a 6-foot-5 pass catcher sounded great on paper, but so far, the Boise State transfer has yet to make any impact. Strachan has one reception this season.

Similar to Johnson, we have to be fair with Zacharyus Williams. The Utah transfer showed small flashes early in the season but has been out since suffering an injury late in the Trojans week 2 win over Georgia Southern and has not suited up since then. Williams could also be headed for a redshirt year, if he doesn't return soon and still have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Other Transfer Portal Additions

Penn State transfer Ta’Mere Robinson added necessary depth to a thin linebacker room, but his biggest impact has been as a special teams player.

J’Onre Reed was beat out by former walk-on Kilian O’Connor, despite starting 25 games at Syracuse the previous two seasons. Reed has stepped into the lineup since O’Connor went down against Illinois in week 5 and has largely played well in his place.

Sam Huard, a former five-star quarterback in the 2021 cycle, has bounced around a few programs before landing at USC. But he was brought in to provide depth behind Jayden Maiava and Husan Longstreet.

Caden Chittenden has been hurt all season and if he does get healthy, it wouldn’t matter. The starting kicking job belongs to Ryon Sayeri and most likely will in the future. Sam Johnson has been the team’s punter all season.

And Purdue guard transfer DJ Wingfield never became eligible for a fifth season after a long battle with the NCAA.

Secondary

Interior Defensive Line

Offensive Weapons

Other Transfer Portal Additions

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