Kentucky defensive lineman Keeshawn Silver commits to transfer to USC

Kentucky Wildcats defensive lineman Keeshawn Silver has committed to transfer to the USC Trojans, On3 has learned. This is his second transfer.

Silver spent two seasons at Kentucky after spending the first two seasons of his college career with the North Carolina Tar Heels. Over the course of his career, he played in 30 games and made 47 total tackles. That includes three tackles for a loss and 1.0 sacks. The vast majority of that production came at Kentucky.

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Silver played his high school football at Rocky Mount in North Carolina, where he was a five-star recruit in the Class of 2021, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. While there, he became the sixth-ranked defensive lineman and the 22nd-ranked player nationally in his recruiting cycle.

While in high school, Silver was selected to play in the Under Armour All-America Game and earned all-state and All-Big East 3-A Conference honors. He was also a multi-sport athlete, playing basketball and running track.

Silver has one season of eligibility remaining after redshirting with one of his seasons at North Carolina.

USC is coming off a frustrating season where the Trojans went 6-6 overall and 4-5 in Big Ten play. It was their first season in the Big Ten and their third under Lincoln Riley, who is now 25-14 with the Trojans. A major concern during that tenure has been the defense and he turned to D’Anton Lynn to try and improve that side of the ball.

In 2024, the Trojans were 55th in scoring defense, giving up 23.5 points per game, which was up from 121st in 2023. Then, USC was 71st in total defense, giving up 371.6 yards per game. That’s up from 119th in 2023. The hope is for the Trojans to continue to grow moving into 2025.

Now, the hope for USC is that Silver can help to contribute to the Trojans’ defense. He also won’t be the only transfer that USC adds. USC currently has the 63rd-ranked transfer class in the 2025 transfer cycle, according to the On3 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. That’s a class that has seen 19 players officially enter the Transfer Portal and two who have signed with the Trojans. More are expected.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.