USC Offensive Lineman leaves program and gets picked up by Oklahoma State
By Evan Desai
2020 USC Football Offensive Lineman recruit Casey Collier has found a new home after entering the transfer portal; Oklahoma State. Collier did play in a game with SC in 2020, but didn't see any playing time in 2021 after securing the backup left tackle job. This appears largely because according to ex-USC Head Coach Clay Helton, he was dealing with some personal business back home in Texas.
Collier came back eventually, but did not receive playing time. Texas is of course where Collier is from and where he played high school ball. He played at Barbers Hill (Mont Belvieu, TX) and was the No. 88 Offensive Tackle in the country (all recruiting rankings and ratings in article are as of 247Sports).
Collier was a three-star prospect but had size that likely really wowed the coaching staff, as he's 6'7", 300 pounds. He'll now be able to play closer to home, and in an offense that just lost six offensive linemen this offseason. The Cowboys are coming off of a Fiesta Bowl win in the 2021-2022 season.
Casey Collier likely would not have received playing time with USC football in 2022.
USC football picked Bobby Haskins (Virginia) out of the transfer portal themselves this offseason, and he will start for SC in 2022 as he is a quality tackle. The team also returns Courtland Ford, who was competent last season and has good starting experience at tackle.
On top of that, SC is now the favorite to land 2022 mega-recruit Josh Conerly, who would be higher on the depth chart than Collier. He is the No. 2 Offensive Tackle in the country, and the No. 15 overall player in the nation. He'll be the go-to guy if someone gets hurt instead of Collier, and may even start.
Collier hit the transfer portal on January 6th. Perhaps the coaches told him that they weren't expecting him to see a lot of playing time this upcoming season. After all, Coach Lincoln Riley made it clear that he is nowhere near done adding through the transfer portal. That could potentially have affected Collier's outlook for playing time.
We may never know, but we do know that Collier provides depth for the line at OKST. He has four more years of eligibility left in him, and we wish him the best over in Stillwater.