Jordan Addison Opens Up on His Move to USC

USC is now home to the two players who caused the biggest dustups in their offseason moves via the transfer portal. First, quarterback Caleb Williams became the transfer portal headliner and the talk of college football when he elected to leave Oklahoma and eventually land at USC. Then, wide receiver Jordan Addison elected to enter the transfer portal out of Pitt, with USC immediately serving as his rumored destination. That caused Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi to reportedly call USC head coach Lincoln Riley several times and for the Pitt staff to essentially accuse USC of tampering.

Nevertheless, Addison did ultimately commit to USC, giving the Trojans the top two commitments out of this offseason’s transfer portal.

Addison had been quiet about the move. He posted a commitment on social media. And the USC football account posted a tweet announcing his arrival.

On Saturday, Addison opened up about his reasoning for the first time. He was in Santa Monica at the Steve Clarkson QB Retreat and spoke with ESPN’s Paolo Uggetti.

“I was looking for a great coach and a good football opportunity,” Addison told Uggetti. “I’m still figuring myself out and what I want to do and I feel like I have a great opportunity to do that where I’m at now.”

His recruiting process out of the portal looked initially like it could be a quick one. But he took a little time with it, listening to Alabama and taking an official visit to Texas. In the end, Riley’s vision for Addison in the USC offense won out.

“Just where USC it at, everything about it and with Lincoln here now, there’s a lot of great things I feel like I can do in this offense,” Addison said. “They showed me that I got a lot of improvements to do within my game, how I need to get better and how to maximize my game.”

According to Uggetti, the potential for more explosive plays in this offense was a big draw for Addison as well.

Addison’s Impact on the Trojans

Technically, Addison is yet another wide receiver addition. This offseason, USC had already landed three out of the transfer portal and signed another in the recruiting class. As far as numbers went, he wasn’t necessary.

But as far as a potential impact and need for USC to find immediate success under Riley, Addison is a huge get.

He is immediately the best wide receiver on the team and the conference. He’s a player opposing defenses must account for with either their best defensive back or multiple defensive backs. Even then, it might not matter. And he’s someone with whom Riley can generate mismatches, either with Addison or by using him to free someone else.

There was a lot of potential in the USC wide receiver room. But nobody was as proven as last year’s Biletnikoff Award winner. Addison might not catch 100 passes or score 18 touchdowns — both numbers he reached last season. But he’s going to make this offense better. And this was an offense that already had the ability to score 40 points per game before his arrival.

There was the initial dismissal from media members who cover or root for USC’s rivals. The talk was that USC might field a great 7-on-7 team with this addition.

At the risk of giving any USC opponents a key to beating the Trojans this season, assuming USC will be getting the same scheme and execution up front after moving from Clay Helton to Lincoln Riley is probably unwise.

On that side of the ball, this offensive line is good enough to win big. This scheme is good enough to win big. And the players in place are good enough to win big. It’s probably naive to think NIL doesn’t have at least a small piece of something to do with the decisions of all transfer portal players. But it’s clear these elite players see something going on at USC right now.

And Addison knew he’d take heat for making the move.

“You can’t get everybody to agree with me,” Addison said. “So I just had to figure out what I wanted to do and do it.”