New USC Football Cornerback achieves ecstatic ranking on transfer portal DB countdown

Mekhi Blackmon, USC Football, USC Trojans
Mekhi Blackmon, USC Football, USC Trojans | Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

USC football got themselves a good one in new transfer corner Mekhi Blackmon. Blackmon wasn't listed as a four or five-star transfer pickup, but his play on the field speaks for itself. He comes to USC after having a very strong last couple of years at Colorado, where he was a team captain.

In Blackmon's last two seasons, he had 10 PD's. That's a good number considering his 2020 season was cut short to just six games due to the coronavirus pandemic. He's likely to be CB1 for this 2022 Trojans team. It's not just a USC writer like myself who is a little bullish on him, though, but national writers too.

On3's national executive editor and college sports writer, Mike Huguenin, ranked Blackmon No. 8 in his '15 most impactful defensive back transfers of 2022.' Only Christian Gonzalez (Colorado to Oregon) was ranked higher among Pac-12 transfer DB's.

Mekhi Blackmon will be starting for USC football, after having two years of starting experience at Colorado from 2020-2021.

Here's what Huguenin had to say about new USC Football CB Mekhi Blackmon:

"All the transfer attention at USC has been on the offensive additions. But Mekhi Blackmon was a two-year starter for Colorado and will play a key role in a revamped USC secondary; the Trojans need four new starters in the secondary, and Blackmon has the ability to be an all-conference player. He had two interceptions and 10 pass breakups in the past two seasons. Blackmon began his career at a junior college in 2017, then moved on to Colorado in 2018. He started five games in his first two seasons with the Buffs before becoming a fulltime starter the past two seasons."
Mike Huguenin, On3

To see Blackmon, who racked up 41 tackles last year, ranking well among transfer DB's is huge for SC. Huguenin is right--most of the hype around USC's No. 1-ranked transfer portal class has been on the offense. And even the defensive guys being talked about are typically Eric Gentry and Latrell McCutchin.

Blackmon getting his due as an outstanding poach from another Pac-12 South program was encouraging for USC and their prospects when it comes to not only this upcoming roster in 2022, but their prospects on being able to steal these types of defensive players in the future.

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