Washington DB Jacobe Covington joining USC as latest transfer addition

The roster overhaul at USC continues, and the Trojans added their latest piece under Lincoln Riley on Sunday as Washington transfer cornerback Jacobe Covington announced his plans to move within the Pac-12 after two years in Seattle.

The Arizona native played in 12 games last season for the Huskies finishing the year with five tackles and one sack. He played in one game as a freshman in 2020.

His best performance at UW came against Arkansas State when he collected two solo tackles plus a sack and tackle for loss.

Covington entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in early May and shortly after that he set up a visit to USC leading to his social media announcement Sunday evening. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound defensive back was considered one of the top recruits at his position in the 2020 class.

Rivals had him ranked as a four-star prospect — 119th overall — and the 11th-best cornerback. He was rated the third-best recruit in Arizona in the 2020 cycle. USC was one of nearly two dozen schools that offered Covington, who was a standout at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale.

Oklahoma, LSU, Oregon, Texas A&M, Penn State, Michigan State, Tennessee, Nebraska and Oklahoma State were some of the programs that pursued Covington as a high school recruit.

The new USC defensive back will help bolster a secondary that has been in need of improved depth this offseason. The Trojans have worked to address the depth concerns by adding other transfers earlier this year.

Colorado cornerback Mekhi Blackmon and Oklahoma transfer defensive back Latrell McCutchin both joined the Trojans in January. USC also added Ohio State transfer safety Bryson Shaw in April.

Covington is the third transfer this week for the Trojans joining Wyoming defensive lineman Solomon Byrd and junior college offensive lineman Cooper Lovelace (Butler CC).

Riley was clear late in spring ball that the Trojans would continue to add transfer pieces as he builds the roster for the upcoming season, and Covington is now the 18th transfer player the program has added since the new USC head coach arrived on campus.

Covington is now the fifth addition for the Trojans since the end of spring ball. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining at USC.