USC Among Top 3 for Coastal Carolina Edge Josaiah Stewart

USC could have several spots to fill from its front seven and the Trojans have gotten off to a fast start with offering guys in the NCAA Transfer Portal. Monday was the first day schools could contact prospects, set up visits and in some cases take commitments. 

The current transfer window is Dec. 5 thru Jan. 18 with another window coming May 1-15.

While we heard there was immediate interest in Coastal Carolina Edge Josaiah Stewart from the Trojans, they hadn’t offered until last Wednesday. On Monday (12/11) Stewart revealed his Top 3 schools on Social Media. USC made the cut and we expect an official visit to be taken this week.

⏰…… pic.twitter.com/4auoXaVfT6

— Josaiah🔮 (@josaiah_stewart) December 12, 2022

USC searching for depth in the trenches

A player like Stewart could be significant in 2023. USC may lose Tuli Tuipulotu, Solomon Byrd, Tyrone Taleni and they’ll lose  Nick Figueroa after this season. There could be more transfers coming, too.

There will certainly be plenty of spots to fill on the defensive line. Shaun Nua, Roy Manning, Alex Grinch and the Trojans have already offered big-time targets. Braden Fiske from Western Michigan, Tunmise Adeleye from Texas A&M, Kyon Barrs from Arizona among others have already been offered.

The Trojans are also taking a close look at Trace Ford from Oklahoma St. and Levi Bell from Texas St.

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.

The Transfer Portal Windows

The NCAA Transfer Portal’s newest rules will allow 60 days per year for student-athletes to enter the portal and maintain immediate eligibility for first-time transfers. For fall sports like football, the window will be split into two periods.

The first, a 45-day period, begins December 5. A second window will be instituted from May 1-15, giving players an option to enter the transfer portal after spring camp. 

The first portal window will close on January 19.

Track transfer portal activity

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 Consensus recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and senior national college football reporter Matt Zenitz’s Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.