New USC TE transfer Malcolm Epps goes in-depth on his move from Texas

It's well known at this point that USC's coaching staff, with all of its Texas ties, has put a major emphasis on recruiting the Lone Star State -- whether it be top high school prospects or transfer portal targets.

But in the case of newest Trojans transfer addition Malcolm Epps, a tight end from Texas who announced his USC commitment Monday, it wasn't so much about any prior connection with the coaches (defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, safeties coach Craig Naivar and offensive analyst Bryan Carrington all overlapped at Texas with Epps).

Instead, it was largely Epps' trust in former Longhorns running back Keaontay Ingram, who transferred to USC over the winter (along with Texas safety Xavion Alford) and went through spring practice with the Trojans the last five weeks.

"At the end of the day I had to go where I felt most comfortable and at home and that was USC because they have guys I have played with and I put my trust into and I know are going to tell me straight up if it was a good place or not for me, and that's what they did," Epps said in an interview with TrojanSports.com.

Epps went in-depth on his transfer decision and the opportunity he sees now at USC.

The major point he wanted to get across, though, was that this move was about more than football to him and that he believes the Longhorns are indeed in good hands with the new coaching staff -- led by Steve Sarkisian -- that took over this offseason.

"This was more than football. This wasn't just football-related -- it was way more than football," Epps said. "The coaching staff at Texas that's there now is going to turn that program around tremendously. It really is, they have a great group of guys as coaches and they all mean well for you and things of that nature, but I felt like it was time for me to go. I couldn't leave until I got my degree, so that's why it took me a little while. But as far as hitting the portal and talking to other schools, a lot of schools reached out to me and I appreciated every school that did reach out to me and saw my talents. ...