Foreman is latest USC player to enter portal
It’s strange to call this an exodus, when the majority of those exiting have clear and oft-speculated reasons for leaving.
But make no mistake: justifiable or not, what’s happening at USC is an exodus
Former Corona Centennial High defensive lineman Korey Foreman intends to enter the transfer portal, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the Southern California News Group after reports of his decision broke on Tuesday afternoon. Foreman is the fourth former high-profile recruit who has headed for the portal since Sunday night – with quarterback Malachi Nelson, linebacker Tackett Curtis, and cornerback Domani Jackson all set to leave USC.
All were considered foundational pieces of USC’s future upon their recruitment and entry into the program; Foreman, for one, was one of the most-hyped recruits in recent Trojans memory, with former head coach Clay Helton calling him “one of the best players in the world,” as reported by the SCNG’s
Adam Grosbard in 2021.
His potential never quite materialized through three years at USC, though, as injuries marred his tenure and Foreman struggled to carve out a consistent role on the defense. He showed flashes during his freshman and sophomore seasons, including a game-sealing interception in a victory over UCLA in 2022 that seemed to set the stage for a potential breakout as a junior — but Foreman was sidelined for much of training camp last summer and never found a role, eventually electing to redshirt.
“Occasionally, if a guy maybe is not going to have a huge role in a game, you might hold him back right now and then if an opportunity presents itself to have a bigger role, you can obviously revisit that down the line,” head coach Lincoln Riley said in early October.
That opportunity was never revisited, however, and Foreman is entering the portal because he “wants a consistent role and position to play,” the source told the Southern California News Group.
It’s undeniably true that there’s a simple justification for each transfer: Curtis and Jackson are leaving amid changes with the position coaches that recruited them, Nelson and Foreman are leaving after rough and injury-plagued seasons. But it’s undeniably true, too, that they were all revered recruits upon entering USC — and such a widespread wave of talent heading for other shores should indicate apparent flaws in either the program’s ability to develop and/or evaluate talent.
“We’re kind of caught in this period where transfer portal and NIL have even gone up a level in terms of kind of the craziness, and the impact on it more than ever before, so it’s just going to be part of it when you have the changes that we’ve had,” Riley said Monday of USC’s transfers.
WASHINGTON’S DEBOER NAMED COACH OF YEAR »
Kalen DeBoer was named The Associated Press coach of the year on Tuesday after leading Washington to a 13-0 record, the Pac-12 championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff in just his second year in charge at Washington. The Huskies will face Texas in the Sugar
Bowl on Jan. 1 with a spot in the CFP championship game on the line.
In his two seasons, the Huskies are 23-2, leaving behind the bitter memory of a 4-8 record in 2021 that led to a change and brought DeBoer to Washington.
DeBoer received 30 of 52 first-place votes and had 113 points overall from AP Top 25 poll voters to easily outpace Florida State’s Mike Norvell (57 points). Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz (38) and Arizona’s Jedd Fisch (28) were the only other coaches to receive multiple first-place votes.
DeBoer is the first Washington coach ever to be named the AP coach of the year and just the third Pac12 coach to win the award in the last 25 years, joining Mike MacIntyre (Colorado, 2016) and Chip Kelly (Oregon, 2010).
MARYLAND’S TAGOVAILOA OPTS OUT OF BOWL GAME »
Taulia Tagovailoa is skipping Maryland’s bowl game, closing the book on a recordsetting career in which he helped the Terrapins return to respectability under coach Michael Locksley. The Terps face Auburn in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK
NFL
Favorite
Thursday
at Rams
Saturday
Cincinnati Buffalo
Sunday
at Atlanta Detroit Seattle
Green Bay at Houston at NY Jets at Tampa Bay at Miami at Chicago at Denver
Monday
at Kansas City at Philadelphia at San Fran.
Favorite
Syracuse
Friday Gasparilla Bowl Tampa, Fla.
UCF
Troy
Arkansas St
Utah St
S Alabama
Las Vegas Bowl Paradise, Nev.
Utah
Hawai’i Bowl Honolulu
San Jose St
NBA
Favorite
Lakers Clippers at Cleveland at Philadelphia at Orlando at Indiana Denver
New York at Houston Boston
Favorite
Line (O/U)
41⁄2 (461⁄2)
11⁄2 (441⁄2) 3 (461⁄2) 21⁄2 (411⁄2) 41⁄2 (361⁄2) 21⁄2 (421⁄2) 3 (371⁄2) 11⁄2 (431⁄2) 11⁄2 (511⁄2) 41⁄2 (441⁄2) 61⁄2 (341⁄2)
10 (411⁄2) 111⁄2 (421⁄2) 51⁄2 (461⁄2)
College Football
Line
Thursday
Boca Raton Bowl Boca Raton, Fla.
3 (561⁄2)
41⁄2 (671⁄2)
Saturday Birmingham Bowl Birmingham, Ala.
71⁄2 (441⁄2)
Camellia Bowl Montgomery, Ala.
3 (531⁄2)
Armed Forces Bowl Fort Worth, Texas
James Madison 21⁄2 (411⁄2)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Boise, Idaho
21⁄2 (611⁄2)
68 Ventures Bowl Mobile, Ala.
161⁄2 (461⁄2)
61⁄2 (411⁄2)
91⁄2 (531⁄2)
Line (O/U)
College Basketball
Line
Underdog
New Orleans
11⁄2 (37) at Pittsburgh 101⁄2 (431⁄2) at Chargers
Indianapolis at Minnesota at Tennessee at Carolina
Cleveland Washington Jacksonville
Dallas Arizona New England
Las Vegas NY Giants Baltimore
Underdog
S Florida
Georgia Tech
Duke
N Illinois
Air Force
Georgia St
E Michigan
N’western
Co Carolina
Underdog
5 (2251⁄2) at Chicago 31⁄2 (2401⁄2) at Dallas 7 (2271⁄2) Utah 31⁄2 (2231⁄2) Minnesota 5 (2191⁄2) Miami 101⁄2 (2481⁄2) Charlotte 41⁄2 (2281⁄2) at Toronto 1 (2311⁄2) at Brooklyn 21⁄2 (2331⁄2) Atlanta 21⁄2 (2321⁄2) atSacramento
Underdog
Tuesday’s results
MEN
TOP 25
Providence 72, No. 6 Marquette 57
No. 20 James Madison 87, Coppin St. 48 No. 23 Memphis 77, No. 22 Virginia 54 No. 25 Mississippi St. 74, Troy 53
FAR WEST
CS Northridge 76, UCLA 72 CS Bakersfield 96, South Dakota 76 Long Beach St. 107, CS Dominguez Hills 78
Montana 73, UC Davis 61
Montana St. 89, S. Utah 88, OT
Saint Mary’s (Cal.) 71, Middle Tennessee 34
San Diego St. 91, Saint Katherine 57 W. Kentucky 73, Cal Baptist 70
EAST
Cornell 95, Siena 74 Maryland 73, Nicholls 67 Northeastern 79, CCSU 74 Providence 72, Marquette 57
SOUTH
USC 79, Alabama St. 59
Fla. Gulf Coast 53, Georgia Southern 42 Florida St. 91, North Florida 75
George Mason 84, Bridgewater (Va.) 60 James Madison 87, Coppin St. 48 Memphis 77, Virginia 54
Mississippi 74, Troy 53
South Carolina 72, Winthrop 62 Southern U. 82, Wiley 49
Stetson 80, FIU 68
W. Carolina 63, Vanderbilt 62
MIDWEST
Bowling Green 75, Hampton 65
Butler 74, Georgetown 64
Cent. Michigan 90, Davenport 66 Cincinnati 65, Merrimack 49
Drake 92, Alcorn St. 55
Florida 106, Michigan 101, 2OT
Indiana 69, Morehead St. 68
Indiana St. 90, Tennessee St. 69
Loyola Chi. 72, Charleston Southern 59 Oral Roberts 71, John Brown 59 Samford 79, Valparaiso 61
The Citadel 65, Notre Dame 45
Wright St. 92, Miami (Ohio) 82
SOUTHWEST
SMU 89, Houston Christian 53
Stephen F. Austin 75, New Mexico St. 72 Tulsa 79, MVSU 50
AP TOP 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, and total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking.