USC WR Kyle Ford Enters Transfer Portal

On3 imageby:Erik McKinney01/12/23

ErikTMcKinney

USC wide receiver Kyle Ford entered the transfer portal on Thursday (1/12). WeAreSC was informed of his plans on Monday (1/9) morning. We’re told Tennessee will be a school strongly considered.

This season, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound receiver caught 20 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns. His big game came at Arizona, where the Trojans were without starting receivers Jordan Addison and Mario Williams. Ford responded with six receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown. It was the first100-yard receiving performance of his career.

He also made a tough, contested touchdown catch against UCLA. He finished the game against the Bruins with three catches for 73 yards and that score.

Ford was a fan favorite during his USC career and a very easy player to root for. He battled back from multiple season-ending injuries and always found a way to give his all. The first injury occurred during his senior season at Orange Lutheran and delayed his impact at USC. He was eventually able to see the field late in the season and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass against Oregon for his first college reception.

The second ACL injury took place during the summer going into the 2020 season and wiped that year out for Ford. Ford returned to the field in 2021 and caught 19 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns.

Ford had a big catch-and-run touchdown during USC’s spring game and spoke during the summer about finally being able to have a healthy spring and stay on the field for an extended time.

He finishes his USC career with 40 receptions for 637 yards and five touchdowns. He contributed heavily in a rotation with Brenden Rice this season, but Rice took a vast majority of the snaps this season. Rice also has two years of eligibility remaining and is coming off the best performance of his career against Tulane in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

USC Players Into the Transfer Portal

Ford is the fourth USC wide receiver to enter the transfer portal this offseason. Though, Jake Smith did was not on the 2022 roster and never played for the Trojans. Ford joins C.J. Williams as 2022 contributors looking for bigger roles elsewhere. Gary Bryant Jr. is also in the portal after sitting out most of the 2022 season.

Linebacker Ralen Goforth committed to Washington and safety Xavion Alford will join Smith at Arizona State.

Other former Trojans have not yet announced future plans. Those include defensive linemen Colin Mobley and Kobe Pepe, rush ends Julien Simon and Tayler Katoa, and linebacker Tuasivi Nomura.

Ford was a major signing for the Trojans in the 2019 class. He was the nation’s No. 34 overall prospect and part of a tremendous wide receiver haul for USC in that class. Ford came in with five-star recruit Bru McCoy and four-star talents in Drake London and Munir McClain. Only London finished his college career with the Trojans.

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