BREAKING: CB John Humphrey Commits to USC

UCLA defensive back John Humphrey entered the NCAA transfer portal on Dec. 11. Although Humphrey hasn’t announced any scholarship offers on social media, WeAreSC learned on Monday that he earned an offer from USC.

We learned on Wednesday about his plans to commit to the Trojans.

On Thursday Humphrey announced his commitment to USC. Humphrey called DC D’Anton Lynn to tell him on Wednesday night.

Humphrey is a big loss for the Bruins, with the defensive back starting in 11 games this season. But with DC D’Anton Lynn leaving for the other side of town, UCLA was always going to be in danger of seeing a few important players leaving in favor of the portal.

In 12 games played during the 2023 season, Humphrey recorded 31 tackles, forced two fumbles, and had two interceptions when in coverage. Getting a solid defensive starter out of the transfer portal is quite rare but Humphrey presents the opportunity for a team out there.

Humphrey played high school football at Pasadena (CA) John Muir, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 345 overall recruit in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

USC also offered UCLA Safety teammate Kamari Ramsey and the Trojans were thought to be the team to beat per sources, prior to Ramsey’s Washington and Ohio State visits on Saturday and Sunday. 

NOTE: USC safety Calen Bullock and Humphrey were teammates at Pasadena’s John Muir from 2018-2020.

USC depleted cornerback depth

With Ceyair Wright no longer with the team, Christian Roland-Wallace entering the NFL Draft and Domani Jackson entering the NCAA Transfer Portal on Monday, USC has a desperate need to add cornerbacks this offseason.

On Monday USC had Jacobe Covington and Prophet Brown suited up for Holiday Bowl practice. Our guess is Makai Lemon may get work at wide receiver and cornerback against Louisville on Dec. 27.

As of today, the only cornerback to earn a USC offer and visit this month was Upton Stout from Western Kentucky. CB Decarlos Nicholson announced his USC commitment on Wednesday night with RB teammate Woody Marks, but Nicholson never visited.

The offer to Humphrey seemed inevitable and would’ve surprised us had it not been given. Another solid pickup this offseason for Riley and staff.

Track transfer portal activity

As of last week, 1,529 FBS players had entered the Transfer Portal.

While the NCAA Transfer Portal database is private, the On3 Network has streamlined the reporting process tracking player movement. If you find yourself asking, ‘How can I track transfer portal activity?’ our well-established network of reporters and contacts across college athletics keeps you up to speed in several ways, from articles written about players as they enter and exit the transfer portal or find their new destination, to our social media channels, to the On3 Transfer Portal.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Industry recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

The On3 Transfer Portal Rankings allow for you to filter the On3 Industry Rankings to find the best of the best in the portal, starting with Overall Top Players.

You can dive deeper into the rankings and filter by position whether it is Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, Tight End, Offensive Tackle, Interior Offensive Line, Edge, Defensive Line, Linebacker, Cornerback, Safety, Athlete, Kicker, Punter, or Long Snapperyou’re looking for.