Yet another surprise USC Offensive Lineman enters transfer portal

USC backup offensive lineman Ty Buchanan has officially entered the transfer portal. He is the third SC offensive lineman to hit the transfer portal for the cycle, joining Casey Collier and Liam Douglass. All three were three-star recruits (247Sports).

Buchanan was a 2021 signee who ended up not getting any playing time this past season. It was tough for him to get time on the field, as SC was loaded when it came to their starting three interior lineman.

Trojans left guard Andrew Vorhees developed into who now enters 2022 as one of the best returning offensive linemen in the country. Center Brett Neilon went 534 snaps without giving up a sack (most by any Power 5 center in the country). Dedich really came along in his development and was the third best lineman on SC's O-Line, which was the highest-rated offensive line unit in the country (PFF).

Ty Buchanan was not going to start on the USC O-Line if he stayed this season.

Due to those three quality interior lineman returning for 2022, IOL Ty Buchanan would not get a starting chance with USC football. Buchanan can also play tackle, and was expected to this year (likely at least in part due to those three in front of him), but with Courtland Ford's experience returning as well as SC poaching a quality tackle in Bobby Haskins from Virginia in the portal, Buchanan's chances looked low there too.

Buchanan should have stayed because of the lack of other talented depth behind those starters right now and the lack of dominant offensive line recruits for SC to pick up in the near future. If he stayed the course and stayed on the grind, he would've given himself a shot to start in 2023 or later.

He clearly doesn't see it that way, however, and chose to test the portal. It is unclear if Riley will let players who enter the portal come back, but some coaches don't allow for players to return to the team if they enter the portal at any point (SC rivals David Shaw and Kyle Whittingham are two examples).

So, it's possible Buchanan could end up a Trojan this upcoming season, but don't count on it. He obviously isn't feeling his situation here right now and it's unclear if Riley will even let him come back. Buchanan, a 6'6", 285 pound player may possibly look to return home to Texas, where he played high school ball at Calallen in Corpus Christi.

He did get Power 5 offers in Texas from both Texas Tech and TCU in high school. Among the college football programs he looked most likely to sign to, Texas Tech looked like where he was most likely to go after high school before SC took their commanding lead. Buchanan appeared to be fourth on the depth chart for SC's right tackle spot.