Lincoln Riley explains decision to move Utah transfer Carson Tabaracci to offense

PeterWarrenPhoto2by:Peter Warren•04/05/23•

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USC‘s Carson Tabaracci has had a very unusual first year-plus of college football. He enrolled early at Utah in the spring of 2022 but elected to enter the transfer portal at the end of the semester.

He landed with the Trojans as an inside linebacker but did not play at all in 2022 due to back surgery.

Entering 2023, Tabaracci has moved to tight end. USC head coach Lincoln Riley said the process around that move wasn’t super intense.

“There hasn’t been much process just because he’s been hurt,” Riley said after a recent spring practice. “The back surgery was a big deal and he’s had a couple of small setbacks early this year, which he’s been able to battle through. Honestly, we really haven’t even talked positions much with him. We brought him in originally on the defensive side. We knew he played both in high school started to play both at Utah.”

Tabaracci was the No. 24 athlete in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking. The On3 Industry is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four major recruiting media services. The On3 Industry Ranking is the most advanced, complete and unbiased rating and ranking measurement in the industry. 

He was a running back in high school — not a tight end — at Park City (Utah) High. But Riley and his staff feel tight end is a good fit for him and he has an opportunity to play quickly at the spot.

“As this evolved and we’ve finally been able to see him do some things physically, really for the first time,” Riley said. “We had a talk with him early this semester, just looking at the depth charts saying you may have a pretty good opportunity offensively. He was all for it. I think it’s deep down where he wanted to play as well. He’s coming to a good situation. He’s getting a lot of reps. He’s getting a look look. His skill set’s good for it. He’s a physical kid. He catches the ball. For missing as much as he has and first time in our offense and really first time doing this much load physically, he’s handled it well.”