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Solomon Byrd will arrive in Atlanta in the next few weeks with wife, Taysia, and toddler son, Messiah, accompanying him. It's because he has a family that Byrd was willing to transfer to a school across the country to play college football. That perspective proved beneficial for Georgia Tech, which received the commitment from the former Wyoming defensive end (who is from Palmdale, Calif., in Southern California) that he announced Friday. Among the schools that Byrd said he chose Tech over was a school far closer, not to mention more competitive - USC. Proximity to home did not factor into what was ideal for him. "I didn't want that to weigh in because I could be close to home but still not be in the best situation," Byrd said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I'd rather be in the best situation. I'm an older dude, as well. I have a family, so it's not like I need to be around parents and friends and family and all of that." A relative unknown - albeit known enough to attract the attention of USC - seeks to make an impact with the Jackets. "I'm not super popular, but I can play football," Byrd said. - Atlanta Journal Constitution

(DS#30 DE) rSr/2024

DE Solomon Byrd, Southern California
News Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution
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05/05/22 - Caleb Williams, Jr/2024, Southern California, 6-1, 214 (DS#1 QB) + More +

After walking off a stage at the Galen Center, after talking to kids from Audubon Middle School, Caleb Williams took a look around the hall. The USC quarterback took in the scene for a moment as kids opened up their provided lunches. "I never thought at 20 I'd have a foundation, I never thought at 20 I'd be here in L.A.," Williams said. Friday was the first official event for Caleb Cares, Williams' new foundation committed to an anti-bullying cause. The middle schoolers were given a tour of USC's athletics buildings by the department's director of community outreach, McCall Hall, who emphasized how much work was required to become a collegiate student-athlete. The tour started in Heritage Hall before entering the John McKay Center and ending at Galen Center, where Williams met with the group. After introducing himself with information like his hometown - Washington, D.C. - and nickname - Superman - he got into his message.

Williams opened up about things people had teased or been critical of him for in the past, from painting his fingernails as a form of expression to his January decision to transfer from Oklahoma, a move he told the kids he still receives vitriolic tweets and hate mail about. He told them that the key to overcoming any type of bullying is to have a strong support system, as his parents beamed proudly in the back of the room. "This is huge because as a kid, you get bullied and that can change your life if you don't have people around you that can help move along or make sure your mental is straight, that can affect you very deeply in the future," Williams told reporters. "I paint my nails as a male. I left Oklahoma; as we know, they have a really good support system when you're there, when you leave, they're a little bit different. So having that (support system), it was huge." - Orange County Register

(DS#1 QB) Jr/2024

QB Caleb Williams, Southern California
News Source: Orange County Register
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05/04/22 - Sam Huard, rSr/2026, Southern California, 6-1, 210 (DS#48 QB) + More +

In perhaps his most impressive display since arriving at UW last spring, Sam Huard completed 12 of 19 passes and threw for 167 yards and a touchdown Saturday (April 29), in a spring scrimmage. WR Lonyatta Alexander Jr. - his high school teammate at Kennedy Catholic - was his most productive target. Near the end of the scrimmage, Huard took a snap, looked left and unfurled a floating deep ball that Alexander pulled in with his left hand along the sideline for a 37-yard gain "It was kind of a little overthrown, so I knew if I put my hand out to go catch it I was going to catch it," Alexander said. "I felt the confidence. I felt the game slowing down as the ball was in the air. As soon as I felt the ball touch my hand I squeezed just a little bit, just to hold on to it and come down with it." It was a return home for Alexander, who transferred back from Arizona State. "Being able to come back home and feel love still from Husky fans, from my family, from Sam and his family, my teammates and everything, it felt amazing" - Seattle Times

(DS#48 QB) rSr/2026

QB Sam Huard, Southern California
News Source: Seattle Times
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05/04/22 - Keaontay Ingram, Sr/2022, Southern California, 6-0, 220 (DS#31 RB) + More +

Running back Keaontay Ingram was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round Saturday, going 201st overall. Ingram, a Texas transfer who came to USC prior to the 2021 season, led the Trojans in rushing in his one season in Los Angeles. He had 156 carries for 911 yards and five touchdowns, just missing out on the opportunity for a 1,000-yard season by virtue of missing the last two games of the year with an injury. Despite his short tenure at USC, Ingram established himself as a vocal leader in the locker room. He was given the opportunity by Lincoln Riley to return for the 2022 season, but elected to turn pro to optimize his earning window as a running back. - Orange County Register

(DS#31 RB) Sr/2022

RB Keaontay Ingram, Southern California
News Source: Orange County Register
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05/04/22 - Jacobe Covington, rSr/2025, Southern California, 6-2, 207 (DS#62 CB) + More +

UW sophomore cornerback Jacobe Covington has entered the transfer portal, a source confirmed to The Times Monday. The news dropped 12 days after he told local media: "I love it up here. It's home. It's home. I wasn't going nowhere (this offseason). I love the fans and I love the city. Anywhere you go, you have to play football. You just have to play. So I just decided to stay here, stay loyal to the fans." The 6-foot-1, 198-pound corner from Chandler, Ariz., did not attend both Saturday's "Spring Preview" and Thursday's walk-through. He produced five tackles and a sack in two seasons and 13 career games - stashed behind stalwarts like Elijah Molden, Keith Taylor, Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon. Covington contributed sparingly to a UW secondary that ranked first nationally in both passing defense (142.9 yards allowed per game) and opponent yards per pass attempt (5.4) in 2021.

As a four-star recruit out of Saguaro High School, Covington initially committed to UW on Aug. 17, 2019, then rescinded that commitment on Oct. 15, before re-committing on Dec. 14 and signing with Washington days later. The versatile cornerback has witnessed the resignation of Chris Petersen, hiring and firing of Jimmy Lake and hire of new UW head coach Kalen DeBoer since making that initial commitment. - Seattle Times

(DS#62 CB) rSr/2025

CB Jacobe Covington, Southern California
News Source: Seattle Times
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05/03/22 - *Jordan Addison, Jr/2023, Southern California, 5-11, 173 (DS#2 WR) + More +

Waiting for the other shoe to drop: Tuesday, the most riveting drama of college football's offseason took another twist when Pittsburgh star wide receiver Jordan Addison officially appeared in the NCAA transfer portal, according to ESPN. Now most people are waiting for Addison to announce he is transferring to USC. He reportedly was in California the last couple of days. He had filed his paperwork to Pittsburgh saying that he intends to explore a transfer, which happened before the May 1 deadline and resulted in him appearing in the portal just after 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The deadline to enter the NCAA transfer portal without requiring a waiver to play in 2022 was Sunday. Pitt compliance officials had two business days to put Addison's name in the portal, with Tuesday the last day it could have appeared. Addison's potential transfer has emerged as a divisive and important issue looming over college football.

It's a fascinating scenario in theory - one of the most established players in the country could test his value on the open market. Addison caught 100 passes for 1,593 yards last season and had 17 touchdown grabs. He finished No. 5 in the FBS with 143 targets. It's unknown whether there has been any tampering by USC or other schools, but the specter of it, and the animosity from Pitt, has turned Addison's situation into a national talking point on how the rules should be structured in the new era. USC's new head coach, Lincoln Riley, has been a magnet for transfers, including quarterback Caleb Williams who played for Riley at Oklahoma last year. - ESPN and other sources

(DS#2 WR) Jr/2023

WR *Jordan Addison, Southern California
News Source: ESPN and other sources
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05/01/22 - *Jordan Addison, Jr/2023, Southern California, 5-11, 173 (DS#2 WR) + More +

Pittsburgh wide receiver Jordan Addison's reported plan to transfer from Pitt to Southern California has roiled college football fans far beyond the confines of Western Pennsylvania. Social media was awash in with concern late Friday into Saturday that a name, image and likeness deal - reportedly worth millions - has attracted the Frederick, Md., native away from the school where he won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver and helped lead his team to an ACC championship just five short months ago. Experts and fans alike fear the move signals a paradigm shift that will allow the sport's richest programs to simply buy the best players from their opponents by ponying up the necessary cash in NIL deals. That would be a massive shift from the way the sport has done business for more than a century. And even advocates for new NIL laws that allow players to profit from their public profile have concerns about the way current rules can impact competitive balance.

SiriusXM and CBS personalist Danny Kanell was chief among them. Losing Addison would be an obvious and crippling loss to Pitt's 2022 prospects. Others speculate that the deal could not have been completed without some level of tampering. Under current NCAA transfer rules, programs are not supposed to be able to contact players under scholarship from other programs unless and until they formally enter the transfer portal. As of Saturday morning, Addison had not taken that step, leading many to question how he could have lined up such a deal to head to Los Angeles legitimately. To reiterate, nothing is official at the time of this writing. Addison could still back out of the deal and remain at Pitt, where he caught 100 passes for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2021. But many seem to feel the conclusion is obvious: Pat Narduzzi's team will lose its best player for cold, hard cash. And there's little anyone can do to stop it. - Pittsburgh Post Gazette

(DS#2 WR) Jr/2023

WR *Jordan Addison, Southern California
News Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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05/01/22 - Eric Gentry, rSr/2026, Southern California, 6-5, 225 (DS#3 OLB) + More +

Arizona State linebacker transfer Eric Gentry has signed with USC, the program announced on Twitter on Friday (April 29). He arrives at USC with three seasons of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Gentry was a freshman All-American last season at Arizona State. He made 45 tackles with one sack and two passes defended in 10 games. Gentry, who visited USC for last week's spring game, is the second player the Trojans have added at linebacker through the transfer portal since head coach Lincoln Riley arrived, joining former Alabama linebacker Shane Lee. USC has now signed two transfers since the spring game, including Ohio State safety Bryson Shaw. - Orange County Register

(DS#3 OLB) rSr/2026

OLB Eric Gentry, Southern California
News Source: Orange County Register
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04/29/22 - *Jordan Addison, Jr/2023, Southern California, 5-11, 173 (DS#2 WR) + More +

Jordan Addison, the 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner as college football's top wide receiver and one of Pitt's top players, is expected to exit the program and accept a massive NIL deal at USC, according to Pittsburgh Sports Now. The story doesn't end there as the Pitt football program believes that the USC coaches illegally tampered with Addison, while he has not yet in the transfer portal. PSN has been told to expect Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi to make a public statement that will target USC's alleged tampering with his best player. Sources also tell Pittsburgh Sports Now that new USC head coach Lincoln Riley is believed to have used the same questionable tactics to lure Oklahoma freshman quarterback Caleb Williams from Oklahoma to USC.

While this isn't official, the word is that USC is offering Addison a NIL deal north of $2 million to head to Southern California. PSN is also told that this isn't the first time a program has offered Addison a large sum of money. Following the season, it's believed that Kentucky offered him $800,000 to go to Lexington and he turned them down. After two seasons at Pitt, Addison has 160 catches for 2,259 yards and 21 touchdowns in just 24 games. Addison had 1,593 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns on a school-record 100 receptions last season. Addison will need to decide quickly. When the NCAA instituted its one-time transfer exemption rule allowing a player to transfer once in their career with immediate eligibility, it was with the stipulation that they must provide their school with a written request to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal by May 1. - Pittsburgh Sports Now

(DS#2 WR) Jr/2023

WR *Jordan Addison, Southern California
News Source: Pittsburgh Sports Now
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04/29/22 - Bryson Shaw, rSr/2025, Southern California, 6-0, 190 (DS#51 FS) + More +

Former Ohio State safety Bryson Shaw is heading to USC. His father, Bryn Shaw, announced on Sunday that Shaw had committed to the Trojans, reuniting with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. As an assistant coach for the Buckeyes in 2018, Grinch recruited Shaw out of Potomac, Maryland. "All the best to our extended family at OSU," Bryn added in his tweet announcing his son's transfer destination. Shaw spent three seasons at Ohio State and stepped in as the starting free safety last fall when Josh Proctor suffered a season-ending leg fracture in Week 2 before he put his name in the transfer portal.

His entry into the transfer portal came earlier this month during the second-to-last week of spring practice. Shaw's 59 tackles were the third-most on the team in 2021, but the Buckeyes brought back a lot of depth in their secondary and added Oklahoma State transfer Tanner McCalister, adding a layer of difficulty for Shaw to regain a starting role. - Columbus Dispatch

(DS#51 FS) rSr/2025

FS Bryson Shaw, Southern California
News Source: Columbus Dispatch
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04/27/22 - Caleb Williams, Jr/2024, Southern California, 6-1, 214 (DS#1 QB) + More +

A sophomore transfer who followed coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma, Williams is the player who most symbolizes this new era of USC football. Which, by extension, could make him Los Angeles' next superstar athlete. USC coach Lincoln Riley was encouraged by the energy during the Trojans' spring game, which featured big plays from Caleb Williams and some surprises. The glorified scrimmage on Saturday amounted to a public unveiling, but Williams treated it like, well, a glorified scrimmage. "I don't really get nervous," he said with a nonchalant delivery that emphasized his point. USC claimed the announced crowd of 33,427 was the largest to watch a spring game since attendance records were first kept in the late 1990s, but Williams was unfazed. He completed his first nine passes. He finished his first two drives with touchdown passes to Mario Williams, another sophomore transfer from Oklahoma.

Alternating drives with backup quarterback Miller Moss over two 15-minute halves, Williams was 10 for 12 passing for 98 yards. "He's getting more comfortable," Riley said. "He's becoming a more seasoned, experienced quarterback." He's already electric. Williams can run, as he showed on the first play of his second drive when he pump-faked and bolted down the right sideline for an eight-yard gain. He can throw, as he demonstrated on the next play when he lofted a perfectly weighted pass that traveled nearly 30 yards in the air as defensive lineman Tyrone Taleni was closing in on him. Receiver Terrell Bynum was on the other end of the 29-yard completion. "The quarterback position, to win championships, you need that position to play well," Riley said. - Los Angeles Times

(DS#1 QB) Jr/2024

QB Caleb Williams, Southern California
News Source: Los Angeles Times
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02/28/22 - Kyon Barrs, rSr/2024, Southern California, 6-2, 301 (DS#71 DT) + More +

2021 ALL-PAC-12 SECOND TEAM (COACHES): DL Kyon Barrs, So., Arizona,...Barrs was a dominant force up front for the Wildcats this season as he led the team with five sacks and is the first Wildcat to be named to the second team since Drew Riggleman back in 2015. His five sacks were the most by a Wildcat since Kylan Wilborn had 7.5 back in 2017 and ranked fifth in the Pac-12 in sacks per game. Barrs was named Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week back on Nov. 8 after helping lead Arizona to their first win of the season. Against Cal, he finished the game with a career-highs in both sacks (2.5) and tackles for a loss (3.0). - Arizona Football

(DS#71 DT) rSr/2024

DT Kyon Barrs, Southern California
News Source: Arizona Football
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01/03/22 - Caleb Williams, Jr/2024, Southern California, 6-1, 214 (DS#1 QB) + More +

Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams said Monday he is entering his name in the transfer portal so he can speak with other schools. The freshman added he had not ruled out staying with the Sooners, but within hours of Williams' announcement, Oklahoma might have found his replacement. Former UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who had committed to transfer to UCLA last month, posted on Twitter that he was instead planning to go to Oklahoma. Williams, a former five-star recruit from Washington, D.C., who was recruited to Oklahoma by then-head coach Lincoln Riley, revealed his intentions on social media.

Riley left Oklahoma to become coach at Southern California the day after the Sooners ended their regular season with a loss to Oklahoma State. Former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables was hired to replace Riley. "I think we all come to college to find our path and prepare for the future. I came to Oklahoma with a plan, but with all the recent changes, I need to figure out what is the right path for me moving forward," Williams tweeted. Williams would be one of the most sought-after transfers in college football. He passed for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns and ran for 435 yards and six scores in 2020, taking over the starting job from preseason Heisman Trophy favorite Spencer Rattler midway through the season. - AP College Football

(DS#1 QB) Jr/2024

QB Caleb Williams, Southern California
News Source: AP College Football
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01/01/22 - Caleb Williams, Jr/2024, Southern California, 6-1, 214 (DS#1 QB) + More +

2021 ALL-BIG 12 HONORABLE MENTION (COACHES): Caleb Williams (QB, OFoY, OPoY),...Since taking over primary quarterback responsibilities with 6:41 left in the second quarter against Texas on Oct. 9, Williams has completed 110 of 174 pass attempts (63.2%) for 1,572 yards and 18 touchdowns against four interceptions. He has also rushed 67 times for 347 yards (5.2 average) and TDs of 74, 66, 41, 40 and 2 yards in the seven games. - Oklahoma Football

(DS#1 QB) Jr/2024

QB Caleb Williams, Southern California
News Source: Oklahoma Football
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12/30/22 - Travis Dye, rSr/2023, Southern California, 5-10, 210 (DS#45 RB) + More +

2021 ALL-PAC-12 HONORABLE MENTION (COACHES): RB Travis Dye, Jr.,...The Oregon football team was well-represented on the Pac-12 all-conference teams, with five players on the first team, two on the second team, and five receiving honorable mention. Popo Aumavae, Anthony Brown, Travis Dye, Ryan Walk and Mykael Wright all earned honorable mention. - Oregon Football

(DS#45 RB) rSr/2023

RB Travis Dye, Southern California
News Source: Oregon Football
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