During his National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday, USC coach Lincoln Riley hinted that there were more additions on the way for the Trojans' depleted secondary.
And sure enough, over the next 24 hours USC would reel in three high-upside defensive back transfers.
First, it was cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson from Mississippi State on Wednesday night, and then Thursday evening came the UCLA duo of safety Kamari Ramsey and cornerback John Humphrey one after the other.
Ramsey and Humprey were both starters and key contributors this season to a UCLA defense that ranked 12th nationally in holding opponents to an average of 301.5 yards per game under defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn.
Now, Lynn is USC's defensive coordinator and he'll have a couple familiar pieces as he rebuilds the Trojans' defense.
Ramsey played 578 snaps this season, earning an excellent 80.2 season grade from and, just as notably, an 84.4 tackling grade while only missed 3 tackles all season. He had 40 tackles, an INT and 4 PBUs.
A four-star Rivals250 prospect in the 2022 recruiting class from Sierra Canyon HS, Ramsey had been recruited by the Trojans then as well. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Humphrey was a three-star prospect in the 2020 class out of local Muir HS -- where he was teammates with USC safety Calen Bullock. Humphrey made 19 starts and played in 25 games the last two seasons, including his first 2 career interceptions and 2 forced fumbles this season along with 3 pass breakups and 31 tackles.
He played 614 snaps and received a 79.0 season grade from PFF, which is a little above average. Per their data, he allowed completions on 58.5-percent of passes targeted at his coverage (31 of 53 for 410 yards and 4 touchdowns). He has one year of eligibility remaining.
USC has now added four DB transfers overall, including Oregon State safety Akili Arnold.
The Trojans lost both starting cornerbacks in Christian Roland-Wallace (out of eligibility) and Domani Jackson (transfer portal) and are likely also losing fellow corner Ceyair Wright, who opened the season as a starter but was not with the team late in the fall, with no explanation given by Riley. Aside from the newcomers, USC has veterans Jacobe Covington, who has started some games at corner, and Prophet Brown, who saw the most extensive action of his career late this season, redshirt freshman Maliki Crawford (who was out injured his whole first season in the program) and incoming four-star freshman cornerbacks Marcelles Williams, Braylon Conley and maybe Isaiah Rubin (who has been committed to the Trojans but not yet announced as having signed a National Letter of Intent).
Meanwhile, at safety, USC is expected to lose Bullock to the NFL -- though he has not yet made an announcement about his plans -- while veteran safety Bryson Shaw says he has not made a decision on his return. Emerging young talent Zion Branch sustained a significant knee injury late in the season and it's not known how much time he will miss but it could likely cut into next season, but veteran Max Williams has one more year of eligibility if he chooses to use it, Arnold was an effective starter at Oregon State and Tre'Quon Fegans, who arrived before this season as a transfer from Alabama, has been receiving strong praise for his development after earning some playing time late in the season.
The Trojans also have promising young safety Christian Pierce entering his second year in the program, and the team just signed four-star safety Jarvis Boatwright and three-star safety Marquis Gallegos.
Established starter Jaylin Smith is back at nickel.
Altogether, that's suddenly a very well-rounded, experienced and deep secondary for USC.
The Trojans have now added eight transfers in all -- long-snapper Hank Pepper (Michigan State), defensive end Nate Clifton (Vanderbilt), linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold (Oregon State), aforementioned safety Akili Arnold (Oregon State), Nicholson (Mississippi State), running back Jo'Quavious Marks (Mississippi State), Ramsey and Humphrey.
