Impact transfer addition Xavion Alford goes in-depth on his USC decision

**Not subscribed and want to read the full story? Take advantage of our FREE TRIAL through Jan. 29 for new subscribers. Just use promo code USCNSD and this link to get started. Returning former users can use this link to log-in first.**

The USC football program received a Christmas gift of its own Friday morning when highly-rated safety Xavion Alford formally announced he was transferring from Texas to the Trojans.

A day later, Alford went in-depth with TrojanSports.com on that decision and why he knew USC was the right move at this time.

A lot of it had to do with the prior relationship and trust he had built with Trojans safeties coach Craig Naivar, who was his lead recruiter at Texas when he committed to the Longhorns.

"Coach Naivar has been recruiting me since my sophomore year, so we've got that type of relationship. I know how much he believes in me, I know how much I believe in him," Alford said. "He just put in effort. When he was at Texas, he was basically ... all day every day checking on me. He's real close with my family -- that's another thing. He actually knows me as a person, not just as a football player. So that kind of plays a big, big part and that allows coaching to be way easier."

Alford, from Pearland, Texas, was ranked the No. 8 safety and No. 139 overall prospect in the 2020 recruiting class. USC recruited him as well, and he visited campus with his FAST Houston 7-on-7 team that spring, but the Trojans never really got any traction in his recruitment.

Meanwhile, Naivar had made him a top priority target at Texas over the six months leading up to his commitment in August of 2019. Flash forward to this week, and it was just a matter of days after Alford put his name in the NCAA transfer portal that he was sold on reconnecting with Naivar here at USC.

"It was a few schools I was considering. I had a lot of schools reach out to me and I was really excited about that, but I just felt the plan USC has for me, and being there with Coach Naivar and everything, it just all fit together, it just fit natural," Alford said, noting that Mississippi State and Northwestern were two other schools that tried hard this week to land him.

"Once my name appeared in the portal, that's when they're officially allowed to talk to me, so I got on the phone with [Naivar] and Coach [Clay] Helton and they just explained the need and the want, and they know what type of player I am, they know what I can bring to the program, and I know what type of coach they are, what they did with No. 15 (Talanoa Hufanga) this year, what Coach Naivar did at Texas watching him, persuaded me to commit. I was really excited and I jumped right on board."

Alford ended up not playing much as a true freshman this fall for the Longhorns, logging just 16 defensive snaps, according to PFF (14 against UTEP and 2 against Kansas State), while also playing on the kick coverage and punt return units.

That wasn't the reason he entered the transfer portal earlier this week, though.

"Not really. A lot of people thought it would be off of not playing a lot my freshman year, but it wasn't really about that. It was about other reasons. I don't want to disclose anything, but it was kind of other reasons," he said.

Speaking further on that matter, Alford said: "It was a business decision, really, to better me, to better my career. I felt going into a different program, getting a different opportunity, a fresh start, just with the stuff that happened at Texas and stuff, it was no bad blood or anything, but it was just a business decision. I felt it was the best decision for me."

In addition to his connection with Naivar, Alford is already familiar with some of his new teammates at USC. Trojans cornerback Chris Steele played some 7-on-7 with that FAST Houston team, as did USC running back signee Brandon Campbell, who is also from the Houston area. Alford also got to know wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. well during their experience at the All-American Bowl last year. Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando was also, of course, at Texas when Alford committed there.

Overall, USC has mined the Houston area for some major talent of late, with Alford, Campbell, WR signee Joseph Manjack, freshman offensive lineman Casey Collier from the 2020 class and sophomore cornerback Dorian Hewett from the 2019 class.

"BC, he's like a little brother. He didn't have a big say on it, but he played a part. He kind of threw in some good [input], just trying to get me to jump on board," Alford said.

While the Trojans didn't end up in Alford's final list of 10 during his initial recruitment, there was some foundation laid during that time that further helped affirm that USC was the right fit for him now.

"It was beautiful. I [was out there] three times in three years, I love it. I love California. I'm ready to get out there and play football. USC got that nice pretty grass," he said. "Coach Helton did offer me when another staff was there. That's another reason why I was very excited about it because he had offered me before so he knew what type of player I was."

Naivar, meanwhile, has done a notable job restocking the safety position, which could soon go from a relatively thin position group to one of the deepest on the roster.

USC was led at safety by Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Talanoa Hufanga and redshirt junior Isaiah Pola-Mao the last two years. Both could be back next year, but Hufanga especially will first have a big decision to make regarding the NFL draft.

Behind them are redshirt sophomore Chase Williams, sophomore Briton Allen and redshirt freshman Kaulana Makaula. Williams has a good bit of experience, but he's been up and down in his opportunities, while Allen and Makaula actually saw more action last season than this one. Walk-on grad transfer Micah Croom emerged as a top reserve on the depth chart this year, but he too barely got on the field in 2020 and has to decide if he wants to return for another year.

But USC has three 4-star safeties coming in as freshmen early enrollees in local standouts Calen Bullock, Xamarion Gordon and Anthony Beavers. Now add in Alford and a talent-rich 2022 recruiting class that Naivar and Co. are pursuing aggressively, and the transition from Hufanga-Pola Mao to the next wave should be smooth whenever that happens.

For Alford's part, he sees that opportunity coming sooner than later.

"Obviously they have two safeties -- No. 15 (Hufanga), he's a high projected draft guy so I'm pretty sure he's going to leave, and the other safety 21 (Pola-Mao), he's going to have a decision. But they need a playmaker to come right in, make some plays and help them win. They finished great this year, they need playmakers to come right in and help them secure the championship," Alford said.

And he'd later reiterate, that last part is his driving motivation.

"My expectation coming in is to win. I'm a team guy. I'll do whatever it takes for the team to win," he said. "I'm going to come right in and try to make an impact immediately."