Published Jan 19, 2022
USC adds more transfer help in landing Colorado CB Mekhi Blackmon
Ryan Young  •  TrojanSports
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For the second time in as many days, USC has found roster help from Pac-12 foe Colorado.

After landing Buffaloes wide receiver transfer Brenden Rice on Tuesday, USC added Colorado cornerback transfer Mekhi Blackmon on Wednesday.

Blackmon visited USC last weekend and chose the Trojans over Utah and Cal.

He has one year of eligibility remaining as a sixth-year senior.

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USC has been among the most active programs in the country with the transfer portal, having 16 scholarship players enter the portal since the end of the season while bringing in eight transfers, as Oklahoma CB Latrell McCutchin followed Blackmon's announcement with his own later Wednesday.

The additions of Blackmon and McCutchin address a key need at cornerback, where USC must replace starters Chris Steele and Isaac Taylor-Stuart, who both declared for the NFL draft. Fourth-year corner Jayden Williams, one of the few CBs with experience on the roster, also entered the transfer portal.

The two newcomers and five-star freshman Domani Jackson should be the top challengers for the starting roles there, while four-star Fabian Ross will also enter the mix as a freshman, and rising third-year sophomore Joshua Jackson Jr. and second-year players Ceyair Wright and Prophet Brown will also compete for larger roles.

After playing one season at College of San Mateo in 2017, Blackmon transferred to Colorado and has made 20 starts over the last four seasons as a fixture in the secondary. He played 537 snaps this season, per PFF, while giving up 23 completions on 37 passes thrown into his coverage, for 223 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT and 5 pass breakups.

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USC actually pursued both of Colorado's starting cornerbacks, also hosting Christian Gonzalez on a visit before he ultimately chose Oregon.

It's been a wild couple months in the transfer portal already. Here's a recap of USC's losses and additions.

Players entering the portal:

DT Jake Lichtenstein (landed at Miami)

OLB Hunter Echols (Arizona)

OLB Juliano Falaniko

S Chase Williams

LB Raymond Scott

QB Kedon Slovis (Pitt)

K Parker Lewis

OL Liam Douglass

RB Kenan Christon

WR Joseph Manjack (Houston)

OL Casey Collier

QB Jaxson Dart

TE Michael Trigg

WR Bru McCoy

CB Jayden Williams

NT Ishmael Sopsher

Incoming transfers:

DT Earl Barquet (TCU)

OT Bobby Haskins (Virginia)

WR Terrell Bynum (Washington)

DT Tyrone Taleni (Kansas State)

WR Mario Williams (Oklahoma)

WR Brenden Rice (Colorado)

CB Mekhi Blackmon (Colorado)

CB Latrell McCutchin (Oklahoma)