Why dynamic USC football TE Michael Trigg followed Jaxson Dart into transfer portal

USC football tight end Michael Trigg has officially joined Jaxson Dart in the transfer portal.

It appears that Trigg is a huge fan of Dart's, as he transferred almost immediately after Dart did. I just question why it is so necessary for Trigg to take off just for that reason. His father spoke about it, though, and it appears that it may not be just for that reason:

And, it's complicated. Check out what Alicia de Artola posted about Lincoln Riley's tight end usage and production:

They can see 2019 and 2020, where the leading Oklahoma tight end (H-Back) had no more than 18 catches for 218 yards and finished sixth on the team. They also could see that this year it picked back up closer to where it was in 2018 and 2017. They could see and remember that Riley turned current standout NFL Tight End Mark Andrews into a star in 2017.

Michael Trigg may be better off staying with USC football over transferring with Jaxson Dart.

USC football tight end Michael Trigg has insane athleticism for his position, and that actually reminds me of Mark Andrews. He has good size too at 6'4," 245 pounds. That's also not far from what Andrews was.

Think Riley just inherited Andrews? You're insane. The year before Riley was there, Andrews put up half the receptions for just 489 yards, and that was his best year at OU up to that point. Riley turned him into more of a tight end (he was recruited as a receiver and primarily played wideout in 2016) and watched him flourish.

And Trigg had higher potential than Andrews coming into college. Andrews was the No. 131 recruit in his class and wasn't even recruited as a tight end, and Trigg was the No. 4 tight end nationally in his class and the No. 130 overall recruit. (All recruiting ratings and rankings in this article are as of 247Sports.)

Trigg can absolutely develop well under Riley, and as his dad pointed out, he could still choose to stay with the Trojans. It looks like he really may end up leaving, however, due to his relationship with Dart. That relationship seems very apparent, as Dart retweeted Trigg's portal announcement.

He also is concerned about his prospects of being a high-volume pass-catcher under Riley, as mentioned before. It's perplexing as to why he committed to Clay Helton in that case (who has a history of not featuring tight ends a ton in his passing games), yet is instead worried about his chances under Riley (who turned Andrews into an NFL monster). Regardless, I wish the best for a good guy in Trigg, and would love to see him keep his talents here.