Travis Dye shares first impressions of playing at USC

Travis Dye was one of many transfer portal victories for Lincoln Riley and USC this offseason. He got his first taste of playing for the Trojans at The Coliseum on Saturday — and he liked what he saw.

Dye, who transferred to USC from Pac-12 rival Oregon, sounded impressed with how things went in his first game-like situation wearing a USC uniform. He shared his full thoughts with ESPN’s Molly McGrath during the second quarter.

“Just electric,” Dye said. “Couldn’t ask for a better first time in the Coliseum wearing these colors. I love being out here, the atmosphere, everything about it. It’s great.”

Dye ranked second in the Pac-12 in rushing yards in 2021, totaling 1,271 yards on the ground and 16 touchdowns for Oregon. He was a huge part of the running attack for Mario Cristobal’s group and a big reason the Ducks finished 10-4 on the season. After entering the portal, he became the No. 23 player on the open market, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

He’s one of many intriguing pieces for Riley in his first year as USC head coach after coming to Los Angeles from Oklahoma.

Caleb Williams sends clear message to transfer portal players considering USC

Caleb Williams, who transferred to USC from Oklahoma following the end of the 2021 season, had some advice to any players in the transfer portal wanting to join him and his teammates in southern California this offseason.

“10 weeks ago, this culture is not what it is now,” Williams said about USC. “Having these guys here, obviously we have guys coming in and having these guys here that have been working on this culture have been amazing. These [are] guys that we’re going to have to get to fill out our roster, because as we know, if you go look at the roster, we’re down a lot of players.”

The lack of roster depth is due to a combination of injuries and the fact that incoming players simply aren’t on campus yet. Despite this, Saturday’s spring game will be a traditional offense vs. defense, though head coach Lincoln Riley said earlier in the week that they’ll be cutting it close.

Williams is one of 13 incoming transfers for the Trojans this season. He joins Mario Williams, Shane Lee and Austin Jones as the headlines of the star-studded transfer group that is comprised of six former four-star recruits, though only two have suited up for spring practices.