USC losing 5-star QB to transfer portal
Sep 9, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General overall view of the Southern California Trojans logo during a NCAA football game against the Stanford Cardinal at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
USC’s interest in bringing a quarterback via the transfer portal appear to be costing them a 5-star recruit.
Several reporters said on Sunday night that 5-star quarterback recruit Malachi Nelson is expected to enter the transfer portal.
USC five-star freshman QB Malachi Nelson is expected to enter the transfer portal, sources tell @247sports
https://t.co/6Cw7NKmknb pic.twitter.com/Y9ll08gSXL
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 18, 2023
The news of Nelson’s reportedly plans to transfer should not come as a surprise.
The transfer portal has effectively created a free agency situation in college football. In the past, programs that recruited top quarterback prospects would spend a few years developing those players before they got a chance to play. Or if the prospects played early, those QBs would likely struggle to begin their careers before improving.
Nowadays, there is not much patience for developing those QBs for a few reasons. One, programs have realized they can skip the development phase by grabbing older QBs from the transfer portal. Two, younger players who were once top recruits often would prefer to transfer and leave rather than sit on the bench and wait for their chance.
Even though Nelson showed loyalty to Lincoln Riley when the coach left Oklahoma for USC, he apparently no longer is willing to wait.
The news about Nelson comes amid reports that USC had former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard in for a visit.
Nelson, who is from Los Alamitos in Southern California, enrolled at USC in June. He will have full eligibility left wherever he transfers.
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