USC Football

Caleb Williams may have shifted the balance of power in the 2022 College Football Playoff race by announcing his transfer to USC, where he'll reunite with former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley.

Williams confirmed the decision to ESPN's Pete Thamel on Tuesday.

"I wanted to go somewhere I thought would provide me with the best development both on and off the field. ... Getting to know Coach Riley and gaining familiarity with his offense definitely played a part in my selection, as well as already knowing some [of] the guys on the team," he said.

After closing out the 2021 regular season with a loss to Oklahoma State, Oklahoma experienced an exodus.

Riley left for USC, taking defensive coordinator Alex Grinch with him. Spencer Rattler, a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, transferred to South Carolina. Jadon Haselwood and Austin Stogner departed as well.

That's to say nothing of the recruits who decommitted after Riley took the USC job.

While not unexpected, Williams' announcement Jan. 3 that he was entering the transfer portal turned heads:

The freshman quarterback left the door open to returning to the Sooners, explaining how entering the portal was the only way he could speak with other schools and remain within NCAA rules.

Wide receiver Theo Wease withdrew from the portal in December, opting to remain with Oklahoma.

Still, first-year head coach Brent Venables found himself having to recruit Williams back to Norman. Venables and athletic director Joe Castiglione issued a joint statement saying, in part, "We believe OU provides Caleb the best opportunity to develop as a player and realize his goals for college and beyond":

Speaking with Thamel after Williams' announcement, his father, Carl Williams, laid out his son's priorities:

With the NCAA's relaxing its transfer rules and allowing players to have one freebie, situations like this are more common. But Williams was something of an anomaly.

Joe Burrow and Justin Fields left Ohio State and Georgia, respectively, because they didn't see a path to the starting role. Jalen Hurts exchanged Alabama's shade of crimson for that of Oklahoma because he had been eclipsed by Tua Tagovailoa.

With Rattler gone, Williams was the entrenched starter for the Sooners. His status for 2022 wasn't in doubt, and QBs don't typically bolt a blue blood when they're poised to run the offense.

Similarly, coaches generally don't get a second bite at the apple when they fail to land a top-ranked prep passer, especially one who has proved himself at the FBS level.

Rather than listing the Power Five programs that were likely to pursue Williams, it was probably quicker to name the ones that wouldn't. 

Williams was the No. 2 quarterback in 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2021 class, and he lived up to the hype at Oklahoma. He threw for 1,916 yards, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions and ran for 442 yards and six scores. 

Rattler's rapid fall at Oklahoma is a cautionary tale about the folly of preseason expectations, but Williams is as close to a sure thing as the Trojans could get at quarterback. Reaching the playoff is bound to be the bar for success with the 6'1" signal-caller on the roster.

Venables, meanwhile, is left scrambling to find a solution at quarterback.

Nick Evers is a 4-star recruit and the No. 10 QB in 2022, per 247Sports' composite rankings. Oklahoma might have to use the transfer portal for its own benefit to replace Williams since fans will anticipate the kind of results that have been the norm in Norman.

As soon as he entered the transfer portal, USC was the logical destination for Williams if he left Oklahoma. Few coaches are better suited than Riley to prepare quarterbacks for the next level, so a reunion made sense.

Former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart's transfer to Ole Miss was the proverbial canary in the coal mine as well. 

Dart threw for 1,353 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions as a true freshman and seemingly would've thrived under Riley's tutelage. By choosing to leave the program, it stood to reason he questioned whether he had the inside track to start in 2022.

When Riley arrived at USC, many believed it was a home run hire that will return the Trojans to national prominence, albeit in a few years. By adding Williams, they might be a playoff contender right out of the gate.

The USC Trojans have landed another big-time football player via the transfer portal as Lincoln Riley continues to build his squad ahead of his first season as head coach.

Oregon Ducks running back Travis Dye announced Friday that he is transferring to USC for the 2022 season. 

Dye spent the first four seasons of his college career at Oregon and has proved to be one of the most dynamic, versatile running backs in the Pac-12. He racked up 3,111 career rushing yards, 869 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns with the Ducks. 

During the 2021 campaign, the 5'10", 190-pound California native took over as the top running back after CJ Verdell was ruled out in October with a leg injury. He rushed for a career-high 1,271 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2021 and also caught a team-leading 46 passes for 402 yards and two scores. 

Dye entered the transfer portal on Jan. 14, just four days after new head coach Dan Lanning finished his tenure as the Georgia defensive coordinator following the Bulldogs' national-title win over Alabama Crimson Tide. 

Dye is only one of many notable players who have opted to join Riley at USC. The Trojans have also added Oklahoma wide receiver Mario Williams and cornerback Latrell McCutchin, Colorado cornerback Mekhi Blackmon and Stanford running back Austin Jones. 

USC is also considered a favorite to land Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams, who played under Riley in 2021 and entered the transfer portal on Jan. 5. 

Brenden Rice, the son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, announced Tuesday he will transfer to USC:

The 6'2" receiver spent the past two seasons at Colorado before announcing his intention to transfer earlier this month. 

Despite reported interest from Oregon, per Zachary Neel of Yahoo Sports, Rice decided to join the Trojans and new head coach Lincoln Riley.

Rice finished 2021 with 21 catches for 299 yards and a team-high three receiving touchdowns on a squad that finished 4-8.

The former 4-star recruit, per 247Sports, has also contributed on special teams, averaging 27.6 yards per kick return last season. Despite seeing limited action as a freshman, Rice scored three touchdowns on nine total touches in 2020, including two receiving scores and an 81-yard punt return.

The Buffaloes have still struggled to produce offense in this time, finishing 121st in the country with an average of 18.8 points per game this past season.

It should be a different story at USC under Riley, who consistently led some of the top offenses in the country at Oklahoma. In addition to coaching Heisman Trophy winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, Riley has also helped receivers CeeDee Lamb and Marquise Brown become first-round picks in the NFL draft.

USC also finished 4-8 last year, but there could be a quick turnaround after several top recruits and transfers joined the program in recent weeks. 

Former Oklahoma receiver Mario Williams and former Washington receiver Terrell Bynum have already transferred to USC and will help create an exciting passing attack alongside Rice.   

Zachariah Branch is following his brother Zion to USC.

After Zion Branch committed to the Trojans earlier this month, Zachariah did the same Friday.

Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports reported the news, noting the wide receiver chose USC over Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio State:

The newest Trojan commit is a 5-star prospect and the No. 14 overall player, No. 2 wide receiver and No. 1 player from the state of Nevada in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

While Zion Branch is a safety in the 2022 class, Zachariah is a game-changing wide receiver who is already drawing head-turning comparisons.   

Blair Angulo of 247Sports projected the pass-catcher as an eventual first-round draft pick and pointed to Kansas City Chiefs star Tyreek Hill as a player comparison. Those are quite significant expectations to live up to, but Branch brings impressive speed and athleticism to the table as someone who can break free for a touchdown whenever the ball is in his hands.

On3 Sports noted he won the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the Nevada Class 5A Southern Region track championship as a sophomore. He also captured the long jump title, further underscoring his athleticism.

This is a major victory for new USC coach Lincoln Riley before he has even coached a single game for the Trojans.

While the program is on the shortlist of the best in college football history, it has fallen on relatively hard times of late. USC was just 4-8 this season and has never been a realistic late-season factor in the College Football Playoff discussion since the postseason format was implemented for the 2014 campaign.

That stands in stark contrast to the program Pete Carroll built that would contend for national championships on almost an annual basis.

Riley's offenses were always explosive when he was at Oklahoma with quarterbacks such as Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield and Jalen Hurts leading the way. He surely pointed to some of the production from those groups when recruiting Branch and now has an elite wide receiver who can help return the Trojans to the top of the Pac-12 in the coming years.                       

Former USC quarterback Kedon Slovis announced in an article for The Players' Tribune Tuesday that he is transferring to Pittsburgh. 

"USC will always be a special place to me," he wrote. "But now it’s time for me to start a new chapter. For my next two years of eligibility, I’ll be playing quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh."

Head coach Pat Narduzzi welcomed Slovis to the team on Twitter:

Slovis cited the chance to play with Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison as one of the reasons he made the switch:

I was so excited when Coach Narduzzi called, because I knew that Pitt and this program were the right fit for me to keep developing into the best leader I can be. I’m ready to win now—and talking to the players who are returning, and seeing how hungry they are for next season, that got me pumped. They have a lot of talented players coming back. And, man ... getting to throw the ball to the guy who just won the Biletnikoff?? That’s something you don't pass up. The culture and identity that Coach Narduzzi has created is everything I want to be a part of.

He'll be attempting to replace Kenny Pickett, the Heisman finalist who threw for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season while adding 241 yards and five scores on the ground. He led the Panthers to an ACC title this year before declaring for the NFL draft, foregoing the chance to face Michigan State in the Peach Bowl. 

While Pickett was one of the best players in college football this season, Slovis saw his career at USC take a different trajectory. After making a splash with the Trojans as a freshman in 2019, throwing for 3,502 yards, 30 scores and nine interceptions, injuries and the emergence of Jaxson Dart this season limited him over the past two campaigns.

He went 16-10 overall as USC's starter.

"Whether it's injuries, or having to navigate a season with COVID and so many unknowns... some things you just don't plan for," Slovis wrote. "And everything didn't go as I planned during the rest of my time at USC. There were obstacles, for sure, and we didn't win all the games we wanted to. But that didn’t stop me from giving all that I had to this team over these last three years."

Add in the fear in Norman that star freshman Caleb Williams could follow Lincoln Riley west to USC, and it wasn't a huge shock that Slovis is transferring. It's a big addition for Pitt, which will look to build on its successful 2021 campaign, while Dart remains the presumed starter going forward for the Trojans.

Jackson State linebacker Abdul-Malik McClain, who formerly played for USC, pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of mail fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft in a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times' Ryan Kartje.

According to the indictment, McClain led a scheme with several other college football players to fraudulently claim COVID-19 relief benefits in 2020.

The Dec. 16 indictment says around 36 claims were made in total requesting $900,000 by McClain and his "co-schemers," though only $227,736 was paid out via Bank of America debit cards issued by the California Employment Development Department.

The other players involved in the scheme have not yet been announced or arrested, and it is unclear how many players took part, though McClain's brother Munir McClain was suspended by USC in September 2020 amid a federal probe into EDD fraud. He was not mentioned in the indictment, however.

Abdul-Malik McClain, 22, was at USC at the time of the alleged fraud scheme, though he transferred to Jackson State in November 2020. He was arrested and released on $20,000 bond Monday, with a trial set for Feb. 15.

He is facing up to 20 years in federal prison per each count of mail fraud and a two-year minimum sentence if convicted of either count of aggravated identity theft. The indictment suggests that McClain was the ringleader of the operation.

"According to the indictment, while a member of his university's football team, McClain organized and assisted a group of other football players in filing fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits, including under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program established by Congress in response to the pandemic's economic fallout," a Department of Justice news release read. "The indictment alleges that the claims ... contained false information about the football players' supposed prior employment, pandemic-related job loss, and job-seeking efforts in California."

USC spokeswoman Laura Bartlett released a written statement Monday.

"When the university learned of this matter in September 2020, we notified law enforcement and have been fully cooperating with authorities," it read. "We are unable to provide additional information because this is a pending criminal matter."

A Jackson State spokesperson declined comment, per the Mississippi Clarion Ledger's Khari Thompson, who noted McClain's bio had been removed from the school's athletics website.

Cornerback Domani Jackson, one of the top recruits in the class of 2022, announced Friday that he will play his college football at USC. 

According to 247Sports, Jackson is a 5-star prospect who ranks as the No. 7 overall player, No. 2 cornerback and No. 1 player from the state of California in the 2022 class.

Before his decision, 247Sports listed USC and Alabama as the clear top two teams Jackson was considering.

Jackson has starred at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, and initially committed to USC in January.

The 6'1", 185-pound defensive back reopened his recruitment in November, however, a couple of months after the Trojans fired Clay Helton as head coach.

USC subsequently lured Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma to become its new head coach, putting it back in the mix to potentially land Jackson.

Jackson was highly sought after during the recruitment process for good reason, as he is already viewed as a potential first-round pick in the NFL draft down the line.

Greg Biggins, the 247Sports national recruiting analyst, compared Jackson to Indianapolis Colts cornerback Xavier Rhodes, who is a three-time Pro Bowler and one-time First Team All-Pro.

Biggins noted that Jackson's long arms and physicality allow him to "bully" wide receivers at the line of scrimmage and excel in press coverage.

Getting Jackson back into the fold after he decommitted is one of the first major coups for Riley at USC.

The Trojans haven't been national title contenders for quite some time and haven't won double-digit games since 2017, but bringing in top-flight talent like Jackson could help change that.

Keeping California-based players like Jackson in their home state has been a challenge for USC in recent years, but Riley may be turning the tide back in the Trojans' favor.

USC quarterback Kedon Slovis has entered the transfer portal as a graduate, according to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. 

A neck and lower leg injury hampered Slovis throughout the 2021 season, opening the door for true freshman Jaxson Dart to emerge as USC's starter, a role he's expected to reprise moving forward.

Slovis, 20, will have two years of eligibility remaining. 

He hit the ground running at USC as a true freshman in 2019, throwing for 3,502 yards, 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions, completing 71.9 percent of his passes. He clearly marked himself as the Trojans quarterback of the future, and J.T. Daniels even transferred to Georgia following that campaign.

But Slovis never matched that level of production again. In 2020 he threw for 1,921 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions, completing 67 percent of his passes. He did lead USC to a 5-1 record in the COVID-19-shortened campaign. 

He struggled this year, however, throwing for 2,153 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight picks while completing 65 percent of his throws. USC struggled to a 4-8 record, and Dart—who threw for 1,353 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions, completing 61.9 percent of his passes—ate into his playing time. 

But Dart's emergence may not be the only reason Slovis is leaving the Trojans. With six Oklahoma Sooners players hitting the transfer portal since Lincoln Riley left the school to become USC's head coach, there's concern in Norman that freshman quarterback Caleb Williams might follow his former head coach to the Trojans. 

If that happens, Dart would likely be out of a starting job too. Williams threw for 1,670 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions this season while completing 62.5 percent of his passes, displacing preseason Heisman candidate Spencer Rattler as the team's starter. In lieu of that change, Rattler also entered the transfer portal. 

It's a regular old quarterback carousel at USC and Oklahoma, and it may not be done turning.