True to his word, USC coach Lincoln Riley wasted no time turning his focus back to the transfer portal.
A day after the Trojans wrapped up spring practice, they hauled in Ohio State transfer Bryson Shaw, who started 12 games at safety for the Buckeyes last season while totaling 59 tackles, an interception and 3 pass breakups.
Shaw, a three-star prospect in the 2019 class out of Potomac, Md., played in 21 games overall in three seasons at Ohio State. He only played in three games as a true freshman, protecting his redshirt, and with the free COVID year given to all college athletes, he would have three years of eligibility remaining.
Shaw is the 14th transfer the Trojans have taken overall since Riley was hired and the first safety (although Oklahoma CB transfer Latrell McCutchin played a lot of safety this spring).
The Trojans have turned over the position in general this year with former starters Chase Williams (transferred to San Jose State) and Isaiah Pola-Mao (left program to pursue NFL) gone.
In their place, sophomore Calen Bullock — a standout as a true freshman last year who started a handful of games at multiple positions — and Xavion Alford (3 interceptions last season while emerging late in the fall) projected as the starters entering spring.
Alford was out with an undisclosed injury this spring, and McCutchin slid in at safety.
With four-star Rivals100 prospect Zion Branch arriving this summer to join the depth chart there, and Shaw now coming in, the Trojans’ depth at the position is impressive, even if McCutchin moves back to cornerback at some point (he played corner in the spring game Saturday due to depth concerns). And that’s not counting redshirt freshmen Anthony Beavers and Xamarion Gordon, who served as the second-teamers this spring, if they can continue to develop and push for larger roles.
Riley has suggested the Trojans could bring in another wave of double-digit transfers this spring, so Shaw is just the start of Round 2 for USC’s transfer portal pursuits.