When Lorenzo Cowan wasn't spotted at USC's Tuesday practice, coach Lincoln Riley was asked about the redshirt freshman defensive end's status and revealed that the former three-star prospect from Savannah, Georgia, is transferring.
Riley didn't offer any further comment on the matter.
It does not come as a major shock, though, as the top of USC's depth chart on the edges is pretty well set with veterans Anthony Lucas (recovering from injury but expected to be fine for the season), Braylan Shelby and second-year talent Kameryn Fountain expected to have major roles while Cowan was competing with five-star freshman Jahkeem Stewart (who is working both at defensive tackle and defensive end) and fellow redshirt freshman Elijah Newby, who moved over from linebacker after last season.
Cowan did not play any snaps last season, but it is notable that Riley had singled him out last week as a player standing out in his development this spring.
"Zo Cowan has had a really nice spring camp up to this point, one of the guys along with [OL] Tobias [Raymond] that we actually pointed out to the team in the team meeting as two guys that are just you kind of feel really taking a jump right now, so I've been real proud of their development," Riley said a week ago.
Cowan is the second Trojan to initiate transfer intentions since the start of spring along with running back A'Marion Peterson, who did so the second week of spring practice. Cornerback Maliki Crawford was off the roster before the start of spring.
Riley indicated he wasn't expecting a big group of departures in the spring transfer portal window, which officially opens Wednesday, but he allowed for the potential for surprises.
"I think for us it's kind of the evolution of the program and the roster and the recruiting classes. We've got a higher percentage of guys on this field right that this staff recruited and brought in than ever before. So I think with that, some more deep-seeded relationships," he said. "So yeah, I mean obviously everybody's aware of it, but I think if you're trying to save something at the very end then that's probably not a great sign. So I think we're pretty secure with our players and where we're at.
"Not everybody knows obviously in this world kind of how things are all going to play out so certainly you gotta be ready to adjust, but I think we've got a pretty committed group that plan on being USC Trojans and then we'll find the right couple of guys in the portal to add and help us get ready for the season."
