USC was looking to replenish its future running back depth in this 2022 recruiting class, and the Trojans actually found a more immediate boost as Darwin Barlow announced Monday night he will transfer from TCU to the Trojans.
Barlow, from Newton, Texas, was a four-star prospect ranked the No. 15 running back in the 2019 class and had strongly considered USC before signing with TCU.
As a redshirt freshman this past fall, the 5-foot-11, 204-pound Barlow ranked second on the Horned Frogs with 428 yards and 4 touchdowns on 5.9 yards per carry. As a senior at Newton (Texas) HS in 2019, he rushed for an absurd 2,366 yards (11.5 per carry) and 42 touchdowns over 15 games, according to MaxPreps.
Barlow visited USC last week a bit under the radar, and apparently he saw what he needed to see to finalize his decision.
He is the second running back transfer from the Lone Star State for USC this year, as the Trojans also brought in Texas transfer Keaontay Ingram prior to spring. Ingram now looks positioned to play a major role in the backfield alongside redshirt senior Vavae Malepeai.
While Ingram has another year of eligibility after this coming season, it's possible he could move on to the next level if things go well. With Malepeai in his final year of eligibility, that means the Trojans could potentially return only two scholarship running backs in 2022 in Kenan Christon (three seasons of eligibility left) and Brandon Campbell (four seasons of eligibility).
The addition of Barlow shouldn't be taken as a sign of where things stand with USC's 2022 RB targets. His transfer portal move was merely an opportunity that came about that the Trojans evaluated and felt was worth the addition.
USC is still recruiting four-star RBs Jovantae Barnes, Gavin Sawchuk, De'Anthony Gatson and Raleek Brown as its main leads at the position, with all four having already been on campus this month.
Overall, this is USC's eighth transfer addition since the end of last season, following DT Ishmael Sopsher (Alabama), safety Xavion Alford (Texas), Ingram (Texas), wide receiver K.D. Nixon (Colorado), wide receiver Tahj Washington (Memphis), tight end Malcolm Epps (Texas) and safety Chris Thompson Jr. (Auburn).
USC has also lost a number of players through the transfer portal, including Markese Stepp back in December and Stephen Carr after spring camp.
The Trojans are now back to five scholarship running backs for 2021 with Malepeai, Ingram, Christon, Campbell and Barlow.
