Breaking down what Malachi Nelson entering the transfer portal means for him, USC

A big name recently entered the NCAA transfer portal, with USC quarterback Malachi Nelson deciding to leave the program after just one season. It’s a name many around college football will be familiar with, with Nelson being a top player in the 2023 recruiting cycle. He had been committed to Lincoln Riley for quite some time as well, going back to when the head coach was at Oklahoma.

Unfortunately, things just did not go to plan for Nelson at USC. Having surgery on his shoulder certainly did not help but the partnership seemingly was never going to work out. It became obvious as such when Riley decided to look around in the portal for a quarterback.

“Everyone wanted Malachi to work in LA,” On3’s Pete Nakos said during Tuesday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “I talked to some people around Malachi — Reggie Bush wanted Malachi to work at USC. I just don’t think the marriage was going to be successful the way things were trending. Let’s be honest, the reason why he went in was USC feels really good about where they stand with Will Howard.”

When Riley was at Oklahoma, he had a system lined up at quarterback. Kyler Murray transferred in, sat a season behind Baker Mayfield, and then excelled. Jalen Hurts was used as a stop-gap before former five-star Spencer Rattler was supposed to take over. Rattler would theoretically play two seasons and then it would be the Caleb Williams show.

Flashback to when Nelson signed, a similar type of plan was thought to be in place. Williams had to play one more season before heading to the NFL Draft and Nelson would use the year to learn the system while preparing to be the starter for the 2024 season.

Well, Riley decided USC would be in better hands, looking to the portal for a sure-fire starter instead of rolling with Nelson.

“I just don’t think it was ever going to be the perfect marriage,” Nakos said. “The way the season progressed, the way they feel about Malachi’s development. Lincoln Riley felt like he needed to go get a quarterback and now, Malachi is going to go try to find a new home. Wherever that might be.”

The destination for Nelson may not be as high profile as you might think, though. Usually, when a quarterback with a recruiting ranking like Nelson (Five-Star Plus+ and No. 11 overall in the 2023 class) enters the portal, a ton of elite programs are chomping at the bit.

But Nelson does not have the blue-blood programs after him just a day or so removed from putting his name on the market. That’s not to say bad schools are going after him but early returns are not usual to a former five-star quarterback.

“By no means is he scraping for destinations but it isn’t exactly every top 10 school lining up,” Nakos said. “We’re looking at Cal, we’re looking at Houston, we’re looking at Tulane. TCU, possibly. South Carolina.

“Those are all schools that have had preliminary conversations. We’re not talking like ‘He’s going to commit in the next 72 hours.'”

Nakos reported on the timeline for Nelson, saying the family wants to take some time to consider all options. Visits will be made before a decision is ultimately made.

As for USC, Nakos has an On3 RPM pick in for the Trojans to land Howard out of Kansas State. If Howard does wind up in Los Angeles, you can pencil him in as the starter for the 2024 season — the program’s first in the Big Ten.