USC continues to mine the NCAA transfer portal for top talent, picking up a commitment from former Auburn safety Chris Thompson Jr. on Thursday.

Thompson, who was a 4-star Rivals250 prospect in the 2020 recruiting class out of Duncanville, Texas, had strongly considered the Trojans coming out of high school and took an official visit two summers ago before committing to Auburn.

Thompson said Missouri, TCU and UCF (with former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn) were the other schools that recruited him the hardest once he hit the portal, while Arizona, Nebraska, SMU, Arizona State and Texas Tech also reached out to him.

But ultimately his pre-existing connections with the USC staff — from head coach Clay Helton to safeties coach Craig Naivar and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, who had recruited him while at Texas — helped seal his decision.

“In high school USC was one of the top programs on my list. Coach Helton and I develop[ed] an instant bond. Ironically, I also had a great relationship with Coach Naivar and Coach Orlando with their recruitment while at Texas,” Thompson said in a text conversation with TrojanSports.com. “Ultimately, I feel I will have a great relationship with the defensive staff. Furthermore, who wouldn’t want to pursue a degree in Los Angeles, the Mecca of business opportunities.”

Thompson played in six games as a freshman this past fall, totaling 8 tackles in limited action. Auburn replaced its coaching staff after the season, which could be a factor in Thompson’s exit from the program.

He didn't want to discuss much about his departure from Auburn, saying this of his time there: "I'm looking forward to attending USC. I learned to adapt to change and I got an opportunity to play in the SEC."

At USC, he joins a growing young corps of 4-star safeties that includes freshmen Caleb Bullock, Xamarion Gordon and Anthony Beavers along with Texas transfer Xavion Alford, who was also a Rivals250 prospect in the 2020 class.

USC lost star safety Talanoa Hufanga to the NFL this year and will soon have to replace veteran starting safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, who is a redshirt senior but actually has two seasons of eligibility left if he wants them with the NCAA giving all athletes an extra year due to the ramifications of the pandemic.

Redshirt junior Chase Williams worked as the first-team safety in Hufanga’s spot during spring practice, but it will be interesting to see if Alford (who also went through spring practice) or Thompson can push for the job this summer.

The Trojans also view the nickel position as a third safety on the field, and they lost some depth there when Max Williams tore his ACL this spring. Greg Johnson is the returning starter there, though, with Briton Allen and incoming freshman Jaylin Smith also in the mix.

Thompson, listed at 6-foot-1, 202 pounds, projected as a hard-hitting strong safety coming out of high school.

“We discussed how they will develop my tools to reach my potential and the opportunity to compete for playing time,” Thompson said of what the staff communicated to him about the opportunity at USC.

As for the transfer market, USC has now landed seven players from Power 5 programs since December in Alabama DT Ishmael Sopsher, Alford, Texas RB Keaontay Ingram, Colorado WR K.D. Nixon, Memphis WR Tahj Washington, Texas TE Malcolm Epps and now Thompson.