Report: USC DE Korey Foreman to Enter Transfer Portal; No. 2 Overall Recruit in 2021

USC defensive end Korey Foreman, who was the No. 2 overall recruit on the 247Sports composite list for class of 2021 college football recruits, has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Antonio Morales of The Athletic (and others) reported the news on Foreman, who is among numerous 4- or 5-star recruits leaving the program:

USC head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters in October that it was possible Foreman, who played sparingly in three games (just one tackle) in 2023, could redshirt this season.

"It's something we're exploring right now. It's, this early in the season, I don't want to say anything for sure because a lot of things can transpire, but both us as a staff and the players that have that available – it's something you have to be aware of. And it's something we're open with guys.

"We have conversations with all of our guys that have redshirt years available, and so occasionally, if a guy maybe is not going to have a huge role in a game, you might hold him back right now and then if an opportunity presents itself to have a bigger role, you can obviously revisit that down the line. But I would put Korey in that category."

Foreman didn't play the rest of the way, and now his time at USC has come to an end.

In 23 games over three years, Foreman made 25 tackles (2.5 sacks) and one huge interception—a game-sealing pick to end a 48-45 win over UCLA in 2022.

Foreman played high school ball at Centennial High School in Corona, California before heading to USC.

Foreman entered college with rave reviews. Greg Biggins, 247Sports' national recruiting analyst, compared Foreman to New Orleans Saints star defensive end Cameron Jordan in a Jan. 4, 2021 write-up.

However, he noted that Foreman missed half of his 2019 season (junior year of high school) due to injury and then all of 2020 when the campaign was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So Foreman entered USC without playing much ball at all over the past two years.

That certainly didn't help him heading into USC in 2021, and he never carved out a full-time role. Injuries notably played a factor, as Ryan Young of TrojanSports noted.

"Ultimately, he was mostly used as a situational pass rusher, playing a career-high 231 defensive snaps in 2022 but never earning a full-time or steady role. He battled persistent injury setbacks that disrupted his practice availability and opportunity to compete for more playing time."

However, Foreman's potential can't be ignored. A fresh start may be what's best for him to realize that as he looks to reboot his collegiate career.