Lincoln Riley on Malachi Nelson transfer: 'It's part of it now'

The transfer portal has changed how many view high school recruiting because, in the end, a prospect you earn a commitment from may never end up seeing the field for you if they chose to move on. For USC, that was unfortunately the case for them in regards to QB Malachi Nelson, the former five-star player out of Los Alamitos.

Lincoln Riley opened his media availability on Monday by addressing Nelson’s decision to move on from the Trojans. He said it’s a hard pill to swallow to put so much into someone and then never really see them realize their potential with you. However, with the portal as popular as it is, he gets that it’s the reality of ow things are now.

“Yeah, that part is difficult. The old school in all of us has all the great memories of the guys that we coach that, maybe, weren’t ready in the beginning and they progressed, got better, and you got to see the end of that,” said Riley. “So, yeah, it’s part of it now, you know what I mean? It’s just part of the world of college football at this current time.”

Coming out of high school, Nelson was the No. 11 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He finished as the No. 5 QB and the No. 2 player out of California. Amidst national interest, USC was able to earn his commitment as an in-state product. He signed with the Trojans right around a year ago and then arrived on campus for spring practice.

In just a sole appearance in the season opener, Nelson completed just one of three pass attempts overall.

With Caleb Williams likely headed out, Nelson could have climbed the pecking order as far as the quarterback rotation. Instead, he is moving on in the portal to likely search for somewhere that can give him guaranteed snaps sooner.

It can frustrating to invest so much in a prospect just to lose him before you every really begin. Still, as Riley said, all the Trojans can do now is focus on the players who want to be in their building and try not to get too hung up on the transfers that feel it’s in their best interest to leave.

“I think, for me and our coaches? The one thing we’ve talked about and talked about with our players is putting our energy into the people that are here,” said Riley. “It’s easy to get wrapped up in all of that, right? Who’s entering the portal, who’s doing this, who’s doing that. The reality is every college football program in the country is dealing with it. We can either put all our attention into who’s doing this, who’s doing that. Or we can put our energy into the guys that out here working, competing, and getting ready to go play in this game. And into our future recruits.”

“That’s been our message. That’s been our, kind of, message – not just to our team but to ourselves as well,” Riley said. “Sure, you’d love every guy to come through and be able to see it through. That’s just not the reality right now.”