USC football steals coveted linebacker transfer from Arizona State

With USC football's Pac-12 South divisional opponent Arizona State losing their entire team to the transfer portal, it's time for the Trojans to pounce. And excitingly, USC immediately was the front-runner for four-star transfer linebacker Eric Gentry.

This was a huge deal, of course, because SC's biggest need on the roster was unquestionably linebacker. Gentry was a freshman All-American last season for the Sun Devils; collecting 45 tackles and five of them for losses.

Now, USC has officially landed Gentry, meaning that they not only acquired depth, but maybe even a starting piece. He was certainly set to be an impact player for ASU, and with the Trojans lacking a ton of sure-fire pieces in their linebacking core right now, Gentry may be in line to be a core piece at SC as well.

Eric Gentry made a visit to the USC football program last weekend.

Eric Gentry's visit to the USC football program happened during the weekend of the spring game, so it served as rather perfect timing. USC persisted in staying as the favorite for Gentry, so it was already safe to assume it went well.

With the disappointing play over the last seven years at Arizona State, the failures on the field for Head Coach Herm Edwards, and the massive cheating scandal surrounding ASU recruiting, players and coaches are fleeing the program.

Both coordinators and loads of coaches in Tempe have been fired or have resigned due to the dumpster fire it has become. Gentry wasn't even the only core player to hit the portal from ASU that day, as starting WR Ricky Pearsall also went into the portal last Thursday.

More players like ex-blue chip recruits LV Bunkley-Shelton (WR) and Ezra Dotson-Oyetade (C) have also dipped from the Sun Devil program since Gentry entered the portal. The question at this point is who IS left at ASU, not who HAS left, though they are of course both related.

If USC plays their cards right during the Riley era, they should be able to notch together many free wins against the Sun Devils moving forward. Swiping their linebacker who was the third-highest graded backer in the conference last year (PFF), they certainly can't seem to stop making those money moves.